Twee studies van een baby 1880 - 1882

Editor: So, here we have George Hendrik Breitner’s “Twee studies van een baby,” two studies of a baby, from around 1880. It’s a pencil sketch, pretty minimal. It kind of gives off that feeling of a fleeting moment, a quick observation. What stands out to you when you look at this? Curator: It’s interesting you say fleeting because that's precisely the energy I get, too. But it's more than just that initial spark, isn't it? Breitner’s not just capturing the baby, but a feeling *of* babyhood. Like grasping at fog – that essence of ephemeral newness. It reminds me of my own niece… remember the endless sketchbooks all us art students filled? Quick gestures, searching lines... Do you see that here, that search for form? Editor: Absolutely. You can see him kind of feeling around for the right lines, especially in the upper study. It's less defined, more exploratory. The lower one feels more resolved, but there's still a rawness. It’s cool he kept the initial sketches. Curator: Exactly! He could have erased those "mistakes," smoothed it all out. But no, he left them! That reveals so much about process, doesn’t it? Maybe he thought "these captured starts have some innate sense." And that connects me! Like stumbling in the dark for a light switch—you remember what your hands touch more than how bright the light is *after.* Do you relate to his lines, those false-starts in creation, in that kind of light? Editor: I never really thought about it that way before. The imperfections becoming the story itself. Makes the whole thing feel a lot more human. Thanks! Curator: It is human. Thank YOU for opening up how he shows us humanness in these glimpses! These aren't errors, but traces of a mind thinking, seeing, *feeling*. And now we feel along with him.