Figuren op straat c. 1895 - 1898

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of figures on a street with charcoal on paper. We can imagine that he made this sketch in the Netherlands, where he worked in the late 19th and early 20th century. Breitner was interested in capturing everyday life, and the way in which industrialization changed the landscape of the Netherlands. In this sketch, he seems to be interested in the ways that ordinary people moved through and occupied an urban space. We can also see that Breitner was interested in the act of recording his observations, so he quickly sketched a group of people who were likely unaware that he was watching them. What was Breitner's role as an artist in this emerging modern world? Was he a documentarian, or was he an observer? To fully understand this artwork, one must analyze the history of the Netherlands in the late 19th and early 20th century.