Annotaties 1893

This is one of George Hendrik Breitner’s notebooks, created in the Netherlands in the late 19th or early 20th century. Though appearing simple, its cultural significance lies in the insight it offers into the artistic process. Breitner was known for his unvarnished depictions of Amsterdam and its working class. While he exhibited widely, he became disillusioned with the art establishment and sought more direct engagement with the world through photography and the immediacy of sketching. The institutional and economic structures of the Dutch art world clearly impacted his artistic choices. Examining these notebooks, we can trace the evolution of Breitner’s ideas. They reveal how an artist wrestles with form, composition, and, crucially, the social realities he sought to represent. Through archival research, examining letters, exhibition reviews, and records of the artist’s sales, we can better understand the complex interplay between art, artist, and society. The history of art depends on these kinds of contextual understandings.