Kop van een kat 1886 - 1903

This is George Hendrik Breitner's quick charcoal sketch of a cat's head. Charcoal, as a material, is fundamentally about reduction: wood, burned down to its essence, leaving behind a fragile, easily-smudged trace. It is also a democratic medium, readily available and requiring no specialized equipment beyond a sheet of paper. The ephemeral nature of the medium invites a sense of spontaneity, capturing a fleeting moment. Breitner's rapid strokes speak to this quality, suggesting the cat's form with an economy of line. The adjacent scribbles, almost like a hazy aura, seem to capture the animal's energy, or perhaps suggest other images or scribbles that have been erased. We might think of drawing as a basic form of labor, a direct translation of thought into a visible mark. The social context of its making is equally important, because Breitner was part of a generation of artists that used accessible materials to document the world around them. This kind of drawing is at the root of visual art and is a reminder that any artwork is an extension of everyday creative practices.