Studieblad 1908

George Hendrik Breitner made this study sheet with graphite on paper. It looks like he’s warming up, getting his hand going, putting down some lines, mapping out ideas, and thinking through form. It’s like the beginning of a conversation, you know, when you’re just trying to find the right words. The marks are tentative, exploratory. You can see the ghost of each shape as he tries to find his line, with this dark vocabulary of hatching, which is so full of possibility. The marks are direct and confident at times, almost like he’s jabbing the page, and the textures vary. It reminds me of some of Degas’ preparatory sketches. He did lots of studies to work out the details for his larger paintings. It's like a window into the artist's mind, a glimpse of how he saw the world. It reminds us that art is a process, a way of thinking and seeing and feeling.