Boerderij en een buste van een jonge man c. 1883 - 1885

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch, Boerderij en een buste van een jonge man, on paper using graphite. The immediacy of the graphite medium lends itself to on-the-spot sketching. The artist could quickly capture fleeting moments and impressions. On the left, we see a bust of a young man rendered with dense, energetic lines, giving it a sense of weight and volume. Breitner uses hatching and cross-hatching to build up tone and shadow. On the right, a farmhouse is sketched with a lighter touch, its form suggested by a network of lines. The sketch offers insights into the artist's working process. The very act of drawing becomes a way of understanding and engaging with the world. It blurs boundaries between intention and execution. It reminds us that the value of art lies not just in the finished product, but also in the labor, skill, and historical context embedded within it.