Vrouw aan een tafel en een mannenhoofd met hoed 1887 - 1891

This drawing, "Vrouw aan een tafel en een mannenhoofd met hoed," was created by George Hendrik Breitner, a Dutch artist working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this time, the Netherlands was undergoing rapid urbanization and social change. Breitner, known for his gritty depictions of Amsterdam, captured the everyday lives of ordinary people. In this sketch, we see a woman seated at a table and the head of a man wearing a hat. The loose, gestural lines give the work an immediacy, as if capturing a fleeting moment. The identities of the figures remain ambiguous, inviting us to project our own interpretations onto them. Breitner often focused on working-class subjects, challenging the traditional art world's focus on the wealthy and powerful. How do these anonymous figures challenge societal norms and expectations of gender and class? Consider what it means to give visibility to those often overlooked, and how Breitner's work invites us to engage with the lives of those on the margins.