Staande figuur, mogelijk voor boten 1886 - 1923

This sketch, possibly for boats, was made by George Hendrik Breitner, and it’s all about the materiality of charcoal on paper, the raw immediacy of process. The smudged areas are just as crucial as the defined lines, creating a hazy atmosphere, like a memory fading at the edges. Look closely, and you'll notice how Breitner uses the side of the charcoal to create broad, soft tones, while the tip gives us those sharp, almost architectural lines. There’s a real tension here, between the solid and the ephemeral, the seen and the imagined. Notice the marks left from the artist's hand, smudging and blending the charcoal across the page, each line pregnant with potential. This piece reminds me of the later work of Cy Twombly. Like Twombly, Breitner embraces the beauty of imperfection, the poetry of the unfinished thought. It's a reminder that art isn't always about answers; sometimes, it's about embracing the questions.