Landschap met paarden 1881 - 1883

This landscape with horses was created by George Hendrik Breitner using graphite on paper. The material itself, graphite, is key here. It is a relatively soft, easily manipulated medium. The artist has exploited these qualities to create a sense of immediacy, capturing a fleeting moment in a few swift lines. The strokes are tentative, searching, as if the artist is trying to grasp the essence of the scene before it disappears. There’s a directness here, a connection between the artist’s hand and the paper. It speaks to the tradition of plein air sketching, where artists ventured out to capture the world around them. It also suggests something about the artist’s process and his relationship to labor. Rather than meticulously rendering every detail, Breitner seems more interested in capturing the overall impression, the feeling of being in that place at that moment. Ultimately, this work shows how materials and process can imbue a simple sketch with a rich sense of atmosphere and meaning.