Studie, mogelijk van een boot 1867 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner likely made this drawing on paper with charcoal sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. Charcoal is an unforgiving medium, requiring confidence and speed, which is visible in the sketchiness of the lines here. Breitner was known for capturing everyday life, especially the working class in Amsterdam. Here, the rapidly drawn lines suggest the artist capturing a fleeting moment, perhaps a worker on a boat, their form abstracted and simplified. The charcoal allows for quick tonal variations, giving depth to the figure. This work wasn't about perfect representation but about immediacy, about feeling. The medium itself, charcoal, so easily smudged and erased, mirrors the ephemeral nature of working life, a life of labor, of constant motion and change. It reminds us that art isn't just about the final product, but about the process, the materials, and the world from which it springs.