Gezicht op het Rokin te Amsterdam 1896 - 1897

Editor: This is "Gezicht op het Rokin te Amsterdam," a drawing by George Hendrik Breitner, from around 1896-1897. It's a sketch, seemingly unfinished, but the energy in the lines really grabs me. What captures your eye most about this piece? Curator: It's precisely that energy, that rawness, isn't it? Breitner was all about capturing fleeting moments, and you can feel him racing against time here. Notice how the composition is almost divided; two different perspectives, as if the artist were turning the page in his mind, deciding what to focus on. I'm really tickled by the way the pen seems to dance – did he perhaps want to represent speed through sketch marks and the seemingly 'unfinished' building to the right. What would it be to make an artwork based off a place and capture the temporality through the incompletion of materials! Editor: That's a great point about the two perspectives! It felt a bit chaotic to me initially, but seeing it as two related ideas makes more sense. It also really shows a glimpse into the artist’s creative process! Do you think this was a common technique back then? Curator: Absolutely! Artists during that time – think late 19th century – were really starting to embrace spontaneity. Forget laborious studio work, let's catch life as it happens! What do you imagine the location sounds like, smells like? Close your eyes - how would you compose something to encapsulate not just the visual elements, but the experiential as well? Editor: Hmmm. Well I imagine the hustle and bustle of a busy street; lots of movement! Maybe that's why Breitner has this flurry of sketchy lines… like he is rushing and trying to encompass the very idea of 'busy'. That’s something I'm going to chew on for a while. Thank you. Curator: Precisely! It is as if Breitner took something inherently fleeting and gave it eternity. Now, if only I could master that trick myself!