Portret van Floris Verster c. 1880 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner painted this portrait of Floris Verster, here at the Rijksmuseum, using oil on canvas. What strikes me is how the painting seems to be caught in the act of becoming, as if Breitner is thinking through paint. The canvas is alive with visible brushstrokes, each dab and stroke contributing to the overall form. The materiality of the work is unavoidable, the paint thickly applied in places, thinned out and transparent in others, a kind of conversation with surface and texture. Look at the way Breitner renders the cane. It's not just a prop, but a structural element, anchoring the figure within the composition. This reminds me a bit of Manet’s portraits, but Breitner brings his own distinct sensibility. It’s this willingness to leave the process visible, to let the painting breathe, that makes the work so compelling. The art world is always in dialogue, it is an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time.