Twee mannenhoofden, in profiel 1881 - 1883

Editor: This graphite drawing, "Two Male Heads, in Profile," was sketched by George Hendrik Breitner sometime between 1881 and 1883 and is currently held in the Rijksmuseum. The immediate impression is that of fleeting observation, of capturing a momentary likeness rather than striving for precision. What jumps out at you when you look at this, our Curator? Curator: You know, it feels as if Breitner has spied on these two fellas. He’s like a visual eavesdropper, swiftly sketching their essence before they vanish like a daydream. See how the lines are so sketchy, so raw? There’s no attempt to smooth things over, to pretty them up. Instead, we get this unfiltered glimpse, almost as if we’re leafing through his private sketchbook. Don’t you feel like a trespasser, in a way, looking at something so immediate and intimate? Editor: I do a bit! The looseness of the line almost makes it feel like a memory. Do you think it might be influenced by the Impressionistic movement? Curator: Absolutely. It has that quintessentially Impressionistic flavor, right? He isn’t trying to give us all the answers, is he? Instead, he hands us these suggestive fragments, trusting us to fill in the blanks with our own imaginations. Who were these men? What were they talking about? Where were they going? The beauty, for me anyway, lies in those very questions. They swirl in my mind like coffee mixing with cream. Editor: It really leaves the narrative open. I love that. I didn't expect to find such narrative possibility in a simple sketch of heads. Curator: Right? Sketches, the underbelly of art! It’s like peeking into the artist's mind, witnessing their first flutters of inspiration, unburdened by the weight of expectation. These seemingly casual scribbles have so much to tell us.