Figuur bij een paard c. 1886 - 1890

Curator: Welcome. Before us hangs a drawing by George Hendrik Breitner, titled "Figure by a Horse." Created with pencil and charcoal sometime between 1886 and 1890, it’s currently held in the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: The frenetic, almost violent marks of charcoal certainly give an immediate impression of movement, unrest perhaps. The horse is barely delineated, a smudge of potential energy, overshadowed by this crude form, a shed maybe? It feels raw, unfinished. Curator: Breitner's interest in capturing fleeting moments is quite clear here. He prioritizes the act of seeing and recording, not necessarily perfecting form. I'm particularly drawn to how the varying pressure on the pencil and charcoal creates depth, suggesting both light and the density of labor in the man's environment. The raw, almost brutal quality resonates with a growing urban existence. Editor: Rawness is key. The horse, of course, carries symbolic weight: strength, freedom, but also labour. The obscured figure of the man seems trapped between his work and this yearning, as expressed through that symbolic equine form. The use of chiaroscuro also amplifies the psychological contrast. Curator: I see the contrast, but more as a product of the tools used and the speed of execution. Breitner, influenced by photography, wanted to quickly capture his immediate surroundings; therefore, he selected drawing materials which granted swift expression. The smudging and rubbing, I believe, is more an integral part of his physical, hands-on engagement. How it mimics how a site gets used up. Editor: I concede the immediacy of charcoal and the quickness it afforded. But what of the symbol of the horse itself during this time, its declining importance in the city, its transition from worker to luxury? This drawing reflects a moment of social transition through this single animal, now divorced, set aside. It's both the literal, rapidly disappearing horse and its connotative, loaded meaning. Curator: Well, whether you look at it as raw visual reportage through quickly applied marks, or laden with symbolic transition, Breitner’s “Figure by a Horse” certainly grants insight into life at the turn of the century, and a look at a society changing beneath their very feet. Editor: It’s a charged piece. Even through the swift execution, we read the tensions of human labour and yearning.