Voorsteven van een schuit c. 1892 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of the bow of a boat, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century, probably in preparation for a larger painting. Look at the way he uses the pencil, those quick, light lines. It's all about capturing a sense of form with the minimum of fuss. You can almost feel Breitner's hand moving across the page as he searches for the right lines. See how some are darker, more defined, while others are just ghosting there. It's like he's thinking out loud, letting us in on his process. I love that openness, the way he doesn't try to hide the struggle of making. It reminds me of some of Degas’ drawings, the way he’d rework a line over and over again until he found the perfect expression. It’s this sense of immediacy and raw energy that makes Breitner's sketch so appealing. It feels like a fleeting moment, a quick impression captured on paper. And in that simplicity, there's a kind of truth.