Drie vrouwen, mogelijk op straat 1898

George Hendrik Breitner made this pencil drawing titled "Drie vrouwen, mogelijk op straat" or "Three Women, possibly on the street", sometime between 1880 and 1923. The drawing is on paper and it shows three women on a street. The composition is defined by bold, vertical strokes that establish the figures and the urban landscape behind them. The sketch's raw, gestural quality flattens the scene, resisting traditional perspective in favor of a more immediate, almost fragmented representation. This approach challenges the viewer's perception, destabilizing fixed notions of space. Breitner's marks are not merely descriptive but performative; they embody the energy of the modern city and reflect the fleeting nature of urban life. The work engages with the structuralist idea that underlying systems govern visual representation, suggesting that the essence of a scene can be captured through its basic forms rather than detailed realism. It invites us to decode the language of lines and shadows.