Drie soldaten te paard, mogelijk cavaleristen 1872 - 1879

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of three soldiers on horseback, possibly cavalerists. Breitner was working in the Netherlands in the late 19th and early 20th century. His interest in military subjects places him in the context of a Dutch society with its own distinct military history. But, rather than valorizing military endeavor, Breitner suggests a more workaday and institutional view. The sketch gives us an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the training activities of these figures. The soldiers are practicing their drills and we have a sense of how the rhythms of military life become internalized. He is known as the 'painter of Amsterdam' capturing the city's atmosphere with great skill, documenting ordinary people going about their daily lives. To better understand Breitner, one might look to military archives, newspapers, and personal letters of the period. The meaning of his art lies in understanding the social and institutional context that produced it.