Paard met hoofdstel c. 1893s - 1903s

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of a horse with charcoal on paper. It’s a tangle of lines, a scribble that hesitantly yet confidently describes this magnificent animal. I can imagine Breitner in the moment, rapidly trying to capture the horse’s essence, the soft charcoal smudging beneath his hand as he coaxes the form into being. There is something vulnerable about a sketch, isn't there? You are thinking about the weight of the animal, the tension in its muscles, and the textures of the horse hair. Those lines loop and dart and almost suggest the motion. It's a reminder that even a simple sketch can carry so much information, so much feeling. And just like that, Breitner's horse is forever captured in this single moment, a testament to the ongoing conversation between artists across time.