Man en vrouw bij een paard op de Dam te Amsterdam c. 1893s - 1903s

This is a drawing of people and a horse on a busy street in Amsterdam, done by George Hendrik Breitner sometime between 1880 and 1923. Look at those quick, dark lines, like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment. You know, when you see something and you just have to get it down fast. I wonder if he was perched somewhere, sketchbook in hand, watching the city move around him? I bet the paper felt rough and toothy. There’s something so alive about these scribbles, so different from a photograph; it's like he's not just showing us what he saw, but how he saw it – all energy and movement. You get the sense of a city that’s constantly changing. The way the marks vary in thickness and pressure gives the figures weight and presence. Breitner's paintings often capture the gritty realities of urban life. This sketch gives an insight into the spontaneous and observational methods that informed his wider practice. Like Edgar Degas, he seemed fascinated by capturing modern life as it unfolded.