Gezicht op de Reguliersdwarsstraat te Amsterdam c. 1902

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of the Reguliersdwarsstraat in Amsterdam with graphite on paper. It’s a jumble of lines, like a quick thought caught on paper. I can imagine him standing there, maybe a little cold, quickly trying to capture the scene before the light changes or the moment is gone. Look at how he's used these scribbly lines to suggest buildings and figures, barely there, yet somehow solid. The woman in the foreground, is she waiting, watching, or just passing through? It reminds me of sketches by Daumier and other artists who just want to capture the immediacy of life. I really dig the raw energy and the way Breitner is unafraid to leave things unfinished. It makes me think about how we all see the world differently, and how cool it is that artists like Breitner can give us a glimpse into their own unique way of seeing. It's like a conversation across time, where we can riff off each other's ideas and keep the creative process alive.