Figuurstudie c. 1886 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing, Figuurstudie, with a graphic pencil line. You can see it there in the Rijksmuseum. The drawing is economical, it's an outline of someone pulling something – maybe a rope. The line work is decisive but has an exploratory feel to it. He's trying to capture the essential form, you know? I wonder if he was trying to quickly record the visual and the action before it disappeared. I feel a certain kinship with Breitner, as I know that feeling of wanting to hold on to a fleeting moment. As painters we share this desire to distill reality onto a two-dimensional surface. It's as if artists are always in conversation, responding to the past, while also pushing towards the future, trying to articulate something new about what we see, how we feel, how we think.