Gezichten op het Damrak te Amsterdam c. 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch, "Gezichten op het Damrak te Amsterdam," as a quick study, a way of capturing a scene with immediacy and directness. The lines are spare, almost like a shorthand, giving you just enough information to piece together the image of the Damrak. Looking at this, you can almost feel Breitner’s hand moving rapidly across the page, deciding what to keep, what to leave out. The paper shows through, its blankness integral to the drawing itself. See that cluster of vertical lines towards the top? It’s like he’s suggesting the bustling energy of the city with a few strokes. It reminds me a little of some of Philip Guston's quick sketches, in the way that both artists use line to map out a space, a feeling, without getting bogged down in detail. Breitner, like Guston, invites us into his process, showing us the architecture of his thinking. It’s not about perfection, but about feeling and movement. Isn’t that the point of art anyway?