Landgoed Torenzicht te Poeldijk 1883 - 1885

Editor: So, here we have "Landgoed Torenzicht te Poeldijk" by George Hendrik Breitner, likely created between 1883 and 1885. It’s a pencil drawing, housed in the Rijksmuseum. It strikes me as incredibly immediate and raw, like a quick study. What do you see in this piece, especially given your historical perspective? Curator: Well, considering Breitner's place in Dutch art history, particularly his later focus on urban life, this early landscape sketch offers a valuable insight into the artistic development of what at the time was a contemporary vision, while considering the public role of art and what was presented to them, or omitted for that matter. Think about the rise of urbanism and industrialization in the late 19th century. What do you imagine he was trying to capture, given that context, and what choices might reflect those influences? Editor: I guess maybe he was capturing a quickly disappearing, or already idyllic, past that contrasted to the world at the time, as urbanization boomed around the area and a return to simple values seemed enticing? Curator: Precisely. But let's also consider the function of a sketch like this, a quickly rendered image on paper. Was this a drawing that was meant for public view or was it a work in progress only meant to serve the artists memory of a subject, like a coded language, understandable to him, and only him? What does this tell us about art’s role, both public and private? Editor: I suppose it reminds us that many of the artworks we see displayed publicly are just one phase, maybe just preparatory material, in a much bigger, more private process of how art gets created. Thanks, that makes me see how a sketch in a museum context reveals a broader system! Curator: Exactly! By questioning how this artwork has come into the public view we gain more insight into the public and political role of art.