Twee figuren bij de Eenhoornsluis te Amsterdam 1912 - 1919

This is George Hendrik Breitner's, *Twee figuren bij de Eenhoornsluis te Amsterdam,* made with pencil on paper. What hits me first is that it’s a drawing, not a painting. You can see the process, the artist’s hand is really present. It's not about hiding the marks, but about laying them bare, which I appreciate. The texture is fascinating; you can almost feel the tooth of the paper. It's minimal but not without detail. Look at the way Breitner uses quick, almost scribbled lines to suggest the figures and the architecture. I love how he captures the essence of a scene with so little. The lines that create the figures, for example – loose, gestural, yet they convey a sense of weight and form. Thinking about other artists, I'm reminded of Degas. Both of them capture fleeting moments, using line and form to suggest movement and life. But ultimately art is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, and meaning is always open to interpretation.