Gezicht op een scheepstimmerwerf aan de Bickersgracht te Amsterdam c. 1892 - 1923

This is George Hendrik Breitner’s sketch of a shipyard on the Bickersgracht in Amsterdam. The drawing, with its raw, fragmented composition, disrupts traditional notions of landscape art. Breitner uses dynamic, spontaneous lines to construct the scene, capturing a fleeting impression rather than a detailed representation. The linear strokes create a sense of depth and movement. The composition, split across the sketchbook's pages, challenges the viewer's perception, presenting two views or moments in time simultaneously. This duality reflects early photography's influence, where multiple exposures and perspectives began to alter how artists understood visual reality. Breitner's approach can be seen as a precursor to the Cubist experiments, breaking down spatial continuity and suggesting multiple viewpoints. The sketch’s unfinished quality invites us to consider art as a process rather than a fixed image. The sketch destabilizes our understanding of what constitutes a finished artwork and how we perceive the world around us.