Gezicht op de Buiten Dommersstraat te Amsterdam c. 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of the Buiten Dommersstraat in Amsterdam with pencil. It's all about seeing how the artist's hand moves across the page. Look at how Breitner captures the rooftops with these confident, almost scribbled lines, but at the same time precise. The texture of the paper is really present here, giving the drawing a kind of immediacy, as if we're looking right over Breitner’s shoulder. The varying line weights, from thick strokes defining the buildings to the finer, sketchier marks, give the whole piece a sense of depth and rhythm, the rhythm of the city. Notice how he suggests the figure in the lower left, a few simple strokes bring them to life. Breitner and Van Gogh knew each other – you can see the influence, the need to capture a fleeting moment in time. It's like art is always talking to itself, riffing on old themes with a new voice. It's never really about answers but about the ongoing conversation.