Gezicht op gebouwen te Amsterdam 1910

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch, ‘View of buildings in Amsterdam’, with graphite on paper. Looking at it, I imagine Breitner quickly filling the pages of a sketchbook in a flurry of marks that form what looks like Amsterdam’s skyline. I love the contrast between the two pages, with one side suggesting the sky with subtle strokes, and the other dense with buildings. Sympathetic strokes capture each building, which appear to be tilting, as if Breitner was capturing a sense of the whole environment moving at once. It reminds me of the Futurists and their obsession with speed. But it’s interesting that Breitner was also inspired by the immediacy of photography. He and other painters like Manet were looking for new ways to capture a sense of fleeting reality. Like them, this sketch feels like a new way of seeing the world, open to interpretation, and full of feeling.