Hoge bomen 1867 - 1923

Editor: This charcoal drawing, “High Trees”, by George Hendrik Breitner, from between 1867 and 1923, has such an unfinished feel. It captures something very raw about the landscape. What stands out to you? Curator: I'm drawn to the materiality of the piece, particularly Breitner's choice of charcoal. Charcoal itself is a product of burning, a residue. Its application here, in these quick, almost violent strokes, speaks to the labor involved, a physical engagement with the landscape itself. Think about the trees—once living things, reduced, like the charcoal, to skeletal forms. Editor: That's an interesting point – this connection of the material itself reflecting the skeletal imagery of the trees in the drawing, I hadn’t thought about that! Do you think this raw presentation affected how his art was consumed? Curator: Absolutely. Breitner challenges the conventional consumption of landscape art as picturesque and idealized. He's offering us something much rougher, more immediate, revealing the work – the mark-making – itself. This relates to the societal shift towards realism, showing the grittiness of urban and rural existence, challenging traditional academic styles, focusing more on the common working person's experience, what do you make of that? Editor: It’s thought provoking, focusing on what something *is*, as opposed to simply *how it looks*. Breitner's marks seem almost hurried, an attempt to capture the moment's truth, before it fades. Curator: Precisely. And it begs the question: Whose labor is valued, and whose is erased in the grand narrative of art history? Editor: It certainly provides another lens through which we can reconsider traditional notions of skill and artistic value, thinking of what we value as skill today! Curator: Indeed, and maybe appreciate the drawing with a newer perspective.