Naakt 1892

This is a sketch of a nude figure by George Hendrik Breitner, made in the Netherlands at the turn of the 20th century. The sketch shows just the bare minimum, the lines are suggestive and almost abstract. Breitner was an important figure in the Amsterdam Impressionism movement. The movement was concerned with depicting everyday life, particularly that of the working class. But art institutions were still highly conservative at this time. This sketch might be a study that the artist did in private in order to practice the art of figure drawing in a social setting. We can learn about this drawing by examining the artist’s other works, looking at exhibition records of the time, and reading reviews of the artist’s work in newspapers and periodicals. The art historical interpretation of works such as these depends on knowing the social and institutional context in which they were made.