Studie, mogelijk van een landschap 1887 - 1891

This landscape study was made by George Hendrik Breitner, and now resides at the Rijksmuseum. Although quickly rendered, the landscape form is recognizable and it is through such forms that humans locate themselves within the world. Consider the persistent motif of trees: vertical lines stretching towards the sky, rooted in the earth, that we see here. Trees are a common symbol in many cultures, often representing life, growth, and connection between the earthly and the divine. This imagery takes us back to ancient myths, such as the World Tree, Yggdrasil, in Norse mythology, a cosmic axis linking different realms. Here, the sparse, tentative lines might also evoke a sense of fragility or transience. Just as the tree sheds its leaves in autumn, we too experience cycles of change and renewal. The act of sketching itself is a fleeting gesture, capturing a moment in time, reminding us that all things are subject to transformation.