Infanteristen een landschap c. 1882 - 1912

George Hendrik Breitner created this drawing, “Infanteristen een landschap,” with pen and ink on paper. The landscape emerges from the artist’s rapidly sketched lines. The eye is drawn to the cluster of geometric forms suggesting soldiers amidst the more loosely defined open space. The drawing’s power lies in the contrast between the structured shapes of the soldiers and the gestural, almost chaotic lines evoking the landscape. This dynamic interplay destabilizes the traditional figure-ground relationship, inviting us to question what constitutes the subject. Breitner uses the pen to probe the essence of form and space, rather than to depict a scene realistically. The drawing challenges fixed meanings, suggesting the instability inherent in both the military figure and the landscape it occupies. The drawing is not merely a depiction, but a commentary on the act of seeing and interpreting the world.