Rij gebouwen en een gevel 1881 - 1883

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of buildings and a facade with pencil on paper. Breitner lived in Amsterdam during a time of great social change, driven by rapid urbanization and industrialization. He was known for capturing the energy of the city and he would walk around Amsterdam and capture impressions, and then later work them out into paintings or drawings like this one. Breitner was interested in portraying the lives of ordinary people, and focused on the working class. He was a self-proclaimed 'people's painter'. It's impossible to know for sure what Breitner intended with this particular drawing, but perhaps he was struck by the architecture of the buildings, or by the people who lived or worked there. These buildings are more than just brick and mortar; they are places of life.