Figuurstudies c. 1886 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made these figure studies with graphite on paper. I’m thinking about the hand of the artist. How they committed the figures to paper in a flurry of marks. See how the running figure seems to pull and drag itself forward? The line has a real sense of movement. It reminds me of Philip Guston, who had a similar way of scratching and smudging the surface to create a sense of volume and weight. I feel for Breitner. I know how much courage and risk-taking it takes to be this immediate and raw. You have to be willing to make mistakes, to let things be unresolved. And the second figure, hauling something over their shoulders - it could be anything - has a tentative quality. Like a thought that hasn't quite formed yet. Ultimately, it's the artist's touch, the gesture, that gets me every time. This kind of drawing is like a conversation between artists across time. It's about taking chances, being open, and allowing the work to evolve in unexpected ways.