Gezicht in Amsterdam met aangemeerde boten 1893 - 1898

George Hendrik Breitner created this drawing of boats in Amsterdam with charcoal on paper, though the exact date remains unknown. Breitner was a prominent figure in the Amsterdam Impressionism movement, which aimed to capture everyday life and the city's atmosphere. Amsterdam in the late 19th century was a rapidly changing metropolis, and artists like Breitner documented these shifts, with an eye to the burgeoning industrial structures. Breitner also studied at the Rijksakademie, which imposed a particular style on art produced at the time. But instead of creating finished paintings of the city, he would often make sketches, like this one. By emphasizing the immediacy of the drawing and leaving visible erasures and corrections, Breitner challenged the established art institutions and questioned the conventional notions of beauty and artistic skill. Looking at such drawings, alongside historical documents like newspapers and photographs, help us to understand the artist's place within the rapidly changing society.