Balustrade van een gebouw te Scheveningen 1880 - 1882

Editor: Here we have George Hendrik Breitner's pencil drawing on paper, "Balustrade of a Building in Scheveningen", sketched between 1880 and 1882. It’s… almost aggressively simple, wouldn’t you say? Stark, but I am curious about what the artist wants to show with it. How would you interpret this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, Breitner. More than just stark, I think. He grabs the air, the feel of a raw moment, doesn’t he? Consider the seaside town of Scheveningen. The Netherlands is, by nature, linear with all of its land divisions. He doesn't get bogged down in details. It feels less about the thing depicted, and more about the gesture of seeing. Have you ever felt like sketching something and this urge took you away so swiftly, that all you are left with, is the most raw and pure of lines? Editor: That’s a great way to put it - "the gesture of seeing". So you're saying it’s almost performative, more about the *act* of sketching than the sketch itself? Curator: Precisely. He's capturing a fleeting moment, a mood, an essence. He cares little about making the final image slick. The lack of details asks more of the viewer. Can you smell the salty air in that gesture, perhaps? What feeling would you attach to that quick expression? Editor: Now that you mention the salty air, and the crude details, I'd say a windy morning. I suppose it’s fascinating how much information he *doesn't* give us. So less storytelling, more feeling? Curator: Exactly! And that, in a nutshell, is what draws me to Breitner. He doesn’t tell stories, he offers sensations. You said windy mornings... It is just a set of lines, isn't it amazing how many sensations that crude drawing manages to convey. Editor: Yes. It's just…so immediate. Thanks for pointing that out, I was seeing it the wrong way round before. I feel like I understand impressionism more clearly now, so thanks a lot for opening my eyes a bit!