Gezicht op een hoekhuis met een bordestrap c. 1900 - 1923

This is a sketch of a corner house with a stoop by George Hendrik Breitner, and it's housed at the Rijksmuseum. I just love the immediacy of the lines here. It’s almost as if Breitner was thinking out loud with his pencil, mapping out the bare bones of this architectural structure. I can imagine him quickly capturing a fleeting impression. What was he thinking about as he made this piece? Was he thinking about Manet? Perhaps he was just playing and having a bit of fun. And the thing about fun is that it is always a deeply serious matter. The overall effect is a lightness of touch and the freshness of perception, so that the eye bounces around the surface in a really playful way. It reminds me that we are all having one big conversation across time, with our drawings and paintings informing each other.