Studieblad 1881 - 1883

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch, Studieblad, with pen in the Netherlands. The fragmentary nature of this sketch raises questions about what is preserved and what is discarded, both in the artist's studio and in the museum. As a preliminary sketch, it is a trace of the artist's practice. Breitner was known for his images of working-class life in Amsterdam, using photography as well as sketching to capture fleeting moments. We might consider what other documents, such as photographs, letters, and exhibition reviews, can tell us about the place of this sketch in Breitner's artistic process. What did his contemporaries think about his work? How did the art market and the institutions of art shape his career? The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.