Figuur met opgeheven armen en been c. 1886 - 1890

Curator: Here we have a sketch by George Hendrik Breitner, dating from around 1886 to 1890. It’s titled "Figuur met opgeheven armen en been," which translates to "Figure with Raised Arms and Leg." Executed in pencil on paper, it's currently held in the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: My initial feeling? It’s raw. It feels almost like catching a fleeting thought—dynamic, spontaneous. Like someone jolted awake. Is it aggressive or triumphant, though? I can’t quite tell. Curator: I think that ambiguity is key. The raised arms and leg are gestures loaded with potential meanings—supplication, victory, perhaps even protest. Think of similar postures echoed in works throughout history—religious iconography or even political propaganda. Here, though, Breitner strips away the specificity. Editor: It's interesting how loose the lines are, how impressionistic. The lack of detail actually amplifies the emotional possibilities, doesn’t it? The viewer is almost forced to fill in the blanks, project their own interpretation onto the figure. Curator: Precisely. Breitner was known for capturing fleeting moments of everyday life, and that sense of immediacy extends here. Sketches like these offer a window into the artist's process, a glimpse into the genesis of an idea. The surrounding pencil strokes too seem to carry equal significance. What do you feel when you look at this landscape slash person? Editor: Hmm… it feels almost primal. Not polished and refined like his later works. Here, it's unburdened and intuitive. Also… slightly manic? But isn't all true creativity a bit like that, an ecstatic mess? Curator: The fact it comes from a sketchbook context enriches our understanding of Breitner's larger body of work. We see him experimenting, problem-solving. A private language is being expressed that opens out to more collective dimensions through this particular figurative configuration. Editor: Yeah, there's something strangely magnetic about witnessing someone work through their creative puzzles. The energy of the sketch somehow carries across time. Curator: A simple drawing. But filled with enduring potential. Editor: Agreed, like a seed containing a forest of feeling.