Gezicht op bebouwing c. 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this pencil sketch of buildings sometime during his life, and it now hangs in the Rijksmuseum. It's a quick sketch, almost like a visual note. You can see the lines are tentative, searching for the form. I love seeing the process laid bare like this. The texture of the paper is visible, and the light grey pencil lines create a delicate contrast. It’s fascinating how a few simple lines can evoke the feeling of a building, a space, a place. There's a sense of immediacy, like he's capturing a fleeting moment, and I get the sense that the act of drawing was more important to him than the finished product. This sketch reminds me a bit of some of Philip Guston's late drawings, where he embraced a kind of raw, unrefined quality. It’s a reminder that art doesn't always have to be polished or perfect. Sometimes, the most interesting stuff happens in the messy, in-between stages.