Gezicht op de sloop van het Leesmuseum aan het Rokin te Amsterdam c. 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of the demolition of the Leesmuseum in Amsterdam using pencil, and you can almost hear the rumble of the buildings coming down. The left page is like a ghost of what was, a faint grid barely held together. On the right, the lines are more forceful, chaotic. Look at how Breitner captures the essence of destruction with just a few strokes. It’s like he’s wrestling with the image, trying to pin it down before it disappears forever. The windows are like eyes, some staring blankly, others already smashed. There’s something raw and urgent about this drawing. It reminds me of Philip Guston’s late work, that same feeling of everything falling apart but with a strange kind of energy and honesty. It’s not pretty, but it’s real, and in its own way, beautiful. Art isn’t always about perfection; sometimes, it’s about capturing a moment of chaos and change.