Studieblad met soldaten 1873

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of soldiers with pencil on paper. He was a Dutch painter known for depicting the urban life of Amsterdam. Breitner was interested in capturing scenes of everyday life. This interest tells us something about the changing public role of art in late 19th century Netherlands. The art world, like Dutch society more generally, was becoming more secular and democratic, with its focus shifting away from religious or aristocratic subjects, toward the lives of ordinary people. Breitner attended the Hague Academy of Art. But his art was quite different to that of his contemporaries. He embraced photography and was less concerned with formal conventions. His unflinching depictions of city life were regarded as vulgar by some critics. If we want to understand Breitner's art, we need to consider these shifts in artistic institutions and social values. We can learn more by consulting exhibition reviews and considering who was buying his art, and why. Only then can we understand the politics of his imagery.