Zittende man met baard 1881 - 1883

Editor: We’re looking at “Zittende man met baard,” or “Seated Man with Beard,” a pencil drawing created between 1881 and 1883 by George Hendrik Breitner. It’s currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum. I'm immediately struck by how ephemeral and fleeting it feels, like a quickly captured moment. What do you see in this seemingly simple sketch? Curator: Ephemeral is a perfect word for it. I see Breitner, ever the observant magpie, grabbing a thought out of the air. It’s not about flawless rendering, is it? More about… capturing a mood, an essence. Look at the angles, the suggestion of the beard, the overall… slouch. What do you feel when you see this "slouch", this loose collection of lines? Is it sadness, resignation? Is he awaiting something, in transit? The wonder, for me, lies in those unanswered questions, that incompleteness. Editor: I get a sense of weariness, maybe. He seems weighted down, though it's hard to say by what. Do you think this was a study for a larger work, or a piece of art in itself? Curator: That’s the fascinating ambiguity, isn't it? It could be either, or perhaps neither. Maybe it's just Breitner wrestling with the nature of…existence! Seriously, though, it highlights the beauty of the incomplete thought. And in those squiggles there may well exist the beginning of something grandiose that only existed briefly, like a lightning flash! It makes me want to go grab my sketchpad and start wrestling myself! How about you? Editor: Absolutely! It’s inspiring in its…unfinished quality, if that makes sense. Thanks! Curator: It makes perfect sense! It's about potential, raw feeling…and now, cake! I'm suddenly ravenous!