Studieblad, mogelijk met een bootonderdeel en een landschap 1880 - 1882

This sketch, possibly of a boat part amidst a landscape, was made by George Hendrik Breitner. Breitner's subject matter is often the street life of Amsterdam. Here, the imposing structure of the boat, with its strong vertical lines, dominates the composition. The presence of boats is rich with symbolic weight; as vessels of exploration and connection, they have been imbued with multiple layers of cultural significance throughout time. Consider the "Ship of Fools" motif popularized during the Renaissance, a concept depicted in literature and art, where a ship without a rudder becomes a metaphor for a society adrift, embodying moral decay. This motif resurfaces throughout history, mirroring anxieties about societal direction. The very act of sketching is an act of capturing and freezing a moment, an attempt to confront the ever-passing flow of time. This drawing freezes a scene, and also opens the way for a dialogue between the present and the past.