Gezicht in Amsterdam met een figuur c. 1902

This sketch of a street scene in Amsterdam with a figure was made by George Hendrik Breitner with graphite on paper. Look at how Breitner captures the light and shadows with such simple lines. The textures are evoked with so few marks; the quick, almost scribbled lines make the buildings look like they're breathing, ready to shift and settle. There’s a wonderful sense of movement, a real ‘snapshot’ quality here, which is incredible when you think it was drawn by hand. The lines are faint in places, almost disappearing, which adds to the feeling that this is a fleeting moment captured in time. It reminds me of the sketches you make when you’re trying to figure something out, trying to catch a feeling or an idea before it vanishes. Think of Philip Guston’s looser, sketch-like works, or even some of Cy Twombly's scribbled drawings. All these artists share an interest in capturing the raw energy of a moment. Breitner invites us to see the world not as a fixed, static thing, but as a constantly shifting, ever-changing experience.