Staande vrouwen, een zadel en mannenhoofden 1880 - 1882

George Hendrik Breitner created this drawing with graphite. It is a study of standing women and men’s heads. The standing women are grouped, their dark dresses rendering them anonymous figures, while the men’s heads are isolated, and individualized by contrast. Consider the motif of the head, a symbol that echoes through history, from ancient Roman portrait busts to Renaissance depictions of philosophers. The head, once a symbol of identity, power, and intellect, has been reduced to a mere sketch. It appears fragmented and disconnected from its body, mirroring perhaps the fractured modern experience. The isolated head evokes a sense of introspection, or even the torment of the modern man, severed from his community and forced to confront the chaos within. It is this interplay of individual and collective experiences that Breitner captures, reminding us of the complex web of symbols that continue to shape our understanding of the world and our place within it.