Gezicht op het Spaarne te Haarlem met de Sint-Bavokerk en figuurstudies c. 1903

This sketchy drawing of Haarlem’s Spaarne river and Sint-Bavokerk cathedral was made by George Hendrik Breitner at an unknown date, probably in pencil. It’s a process, not a product. Look at how the marks suggest rather than describe, building up an image bit by bit. It’s all about feeling the space, right? I get the sense of the artist sitting and trying to get the proportions right. See how the cathedral looms in the background on the right page, built up from a mass of short, sharp lines. Then, over on the left, those scribbled figures in the foreground seem to be searching for their place in the composition. I find these kinds of sketches so intimate. They remind me of drawings by someone like Philip Guston, where the energy of the line is more important than a perfect representation. Art isn’t about getting it right, it’s about the conversation that happens as you try.