Nieuwe Teertuinen te Amsterdam, gezien vanaf Prinseneiland 1912 - 1919

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of Nieuwe Teertuinen in Amsterdam with graphite. The artist's hand moved swiftly, capturing the essence of the scene in a flurry of lines. The scene is a mass of marks, of the artist trying to find the subject within the materiality of their mark making. I can almost feel the scratch of the graphite on the page, the quick decisions being made about what to include and what to leave out. There’s a raw energy in the sketch, like the artist was trying to capture a fleeting moment. The rooftops are defined with heavy shading. Breitner was part of a generation of artists who were interested in capturing modern life, and he was known for his street scenes of Amsterdam. You see his paintings, drawings and photography all speaking to each other. The sketch feels like a conversation with other artists who were exploring similar themes. Artists are magpies, taking from one another.