Dak met schoorsteen 1881 - 1883

George Hendrik Breitner created ‘Dak met schoorsteen’ with a pencil on paper. Notice the subtle interplay between the faint lines and the textured surface of the paper, a dynamic that brings a certain rawness to the composition. The chimney, rendered with an economy of line, anchors the sketch, while the surrounding rooftop dissolves into a delicate network of shapes. Breitner’s focus on the structural elements—line, form, and composition—reveals an engagement with the urban landscape, stripped down to its most fundamental components. It speaks to a broader artistic concern with portraying the industrial city in a direct, unembellished manner. The sketch could be seen as a semiotic exercise, where the chimney and rooftop function as signs. The beauty here lies in the sketch's intrinsic simplicity and the artist’s ability to uncover the abstract qualities of urban architecture. The starkness of the lines against the paper challenges our expectations, inviting us to reflect on the interplay between structure and form in shaping our understanding of the urban environment.