Gezicht in Haarlem met de Sint-Bavokerk c. 1902

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of a view in Haarlem with the Sint-Bavokerk. It's a quick sketch, likely done on location, and feels like the artist was just trying to capture a fleeting impression. I love the economy of line here. Breitner's marks are so direct and unpretentious, almost like he’s just letting his hand wander across the page. There's a real sense of immediacy; I can almost feel the breeze and hear the city sounds. The thin pencil lines, scribbled across the page, give us just enough information to get a sense of the scene. The architecture is hinted at, not precisely defined, but there's something really compelling about the ambiguity. It makes me think of other artists who embraced the sketch as a finished form, like Cy Twombly, or even some of the more experimental draftsmen of the Renaissance. It's all about seeing the potential in the unfinished, the beauty in the process. Incomplete as it is, it's a really evocative piece.