Twee paarden met tuig c. 1909

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of two horses with tack, but when, I don't know! I love the urgency of the lines, how they seem to capture a fleeting moment. You can almost feel Breitner's hand moving quickly across the page, trying to capture the essence of these animals. The texture here is raw, immediate. It’s all in the suggestive marks. See how the charcoal is applied with varying degrees of pressure? Some lines are dark and assertive, others are light and almost fading away. The way he suggests the musculature of the horses with just a few strokes is really masterful. Think about the fact that he's chosen to leave so much unsaid, so much to the imagination. It's like he’s inviting us to participate in the act of seeing, of creating the image along with him. Reminds me a little of Degas, or even Manet, in the way it prioritizes the act of perception. It’s a lovely reminder that art is not about perfect representation, but about the messy, beautiful process of trying to make sense of the world.