Kop van een kat 1892

Curator: Here, we have George Hendrik Breitner's "Head of a Cat," created around 1892. It's a humble pencil sketch, currently residing here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first impression is how quickly the artist captured this creature—it feels raw, like a thought scribbled onto paper, almost a memento mori given the somewhat skull-like representation. Curator: Exactly! Breitner, known for his street scenes, here offers something unusually intimate. Pencil on paper. I see the influence of Impressionism. Notice the economical use of line—a real exploration of form through minimal means. Editor: Speaking of paper, you can really see its materiality here. It seems well-used, almost a working document. Also, it would be interesting to research the supply of pencils available at the time—did Breitner have access to finely manufactured drawing pencils, or did he have to make do? What labor went into producing that implement he chose? Curator: You make a good point. And to think this unassuming little drawing might’ve been just that - a quick study before a larger work! It almost reads as an internal diagram, the bare bones of the cat. But something so simple really makes one think about these domestic animals around 19th century. Editor: Indeed, there's that implicit social context again. What kind of home might this cat have lived in? A factory cat keeping down vermin, or pampered family member. And you wonder: what was Breitner thinking? Curator: Perhaps capturing the essence of feline indifference? Or finding beauty in the everyday, as the Impressionists were known to do. Whatever his intent, Breitner created a sketch that seems intensely private, and almost vulnerable. Editor: It’s that feeling of work-in-progress and impermanence combined with a certain dignity that the composition confers to its feline subject. Makes it haunting in an intriguing manner, doesn’t it? Curator: It does, and thank you, that's a wonderful thing to contemplate about it, isn't it? Editor: It is indeed.