Landschap met wolkenlucht 1884 - 1886

This sketch, Landschap met wolkenlucht, was made by George Hendrik Breitner in the Netherlands, though the date is unknown. It’s a simple, unassuming drawing in pencil, but it reveals a lot about how artists working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were trained, and how they saw their role in society. Breitner was associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement, and he wanted to capture the energy of city life. The sketch shows us that before committing to a painting, Breitner would often create a sketch like this in order to establish the basic structure of the composition. Here, we can see that he has lightly sketched the line of the clouds and a set of trees. Breitner received a formal training at the Royal Academy of Art in Amsterdam, and this education would have emphasized the importance of preliminary drawings. These drawings would not have been considered works of art in their own right, but this perception has since changed. Nowadays, they are considered windows into the artist's world. To better understand this work, you might explore Breitner’s education or look at other sketches that are preserved in museum collections.