Studieblad c. 1902

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch in pencil on paper. Look at the quick marks, the swift decisions. It’s almost like overhearing a conversation. What’s being worked out here? I imagine Breitner in the studio, or maybe outdoors, rapidly capturing ideas as they come. I bet there was a sense of urgency, a need to record fleeting impressions. I do that too, grab at thoughts before they disappear. What is he looking at, I wonder? Some kind of figures. Are they animals or people? The lines are so spare, just enough to suggest form and movement, the bare bones. It feels like the start of something, like an artist thinking aloud on paper. He’s in dialogue with his work. I love that—the idea of artists talking to each other across time through these little gestures. It is exciting, right?