Landschap met bebouwing c. 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this landscape with buildings using graphite on paper. Look at the marks, the nervous energy, and the raw simplicity, you can see a mind at work, figuring things out in real-time. I can almost feel Breitner’s hand moving across the paper, smudging, erasing, and building up layers of tone. I wonder what he was thinking, standing there, charcoal in hand? Was he trying to capture the essence of the place, the feel of the air, the weight of the buildings? It reminds me of some of Cy Twombly's sketches, the way he used line and tone to create a sense of depth and movement. It’s all about the process, the act of seeing and recording, it’s like he’s not just drawing what he sees, but also what he feels. Like, how else can you draw air, right? It's like one artist whispering secrets to another across time.