Rokin in Amsterdam, gezien naar het Muntplein c. 1900 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner created this sketch of Rokin in Amsterdam, looking towards Muntplein, using what looks like charcoal or graphite, maybe sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. I can imagine Breitner standing there, maybe a little cold, trying to capture the feel of the place. Look at the quick, scratchy lines – they're not trying to get every detail perfect. Instead, they're grabbing the basic shapes, like the buildings and the sense of a busy street. There's a real energy in those marks, a kind of shorthand for the hustle and bustle. It reminds me of sketches I do when I'm trying to quickly get an idea down before it disappears. It's less about making something beautiful and more about trying to see what's really there, in a raw, immediate kind of way. You can almost feel the artist working, deciding what to keep and what to leave out. It's like he's inviting you to finish the picture in your own mind.