Twee vrouwen c. 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of two women using pencil on paper. It is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Breitner was working in the Netherlands at a time of rapid urbanization and social change. Breitner's focus on everyday life and working-class subjects, such as these women, can be seen as a departure from the traditional academic art of his time. The loose, sketch-like quality suggests a sense of immediacy and observation. The artist was documenting modern life in the burgeoning city of Amsterdam. This might have been in preparation for a painting, but it also has the quality of a quick impression of life as it unfolded around him. By studying Breitner's sketchbooks and paintings, as well as the social and cultural history of the Netherlands in the late 19th century, we can better understand the artist's intentions and the broader context in which this drawing was created. This approach enables us to see art not just as aesthetic objects, but as products of and responses to their time.