Gezicht op de sloop van panden aan de Sint Agnietenstraat te Amsterdam 1903

George Hendrik Breitner made this sketch of the demolition of buildings in Amsterdam using what looks like charcoal or a graphite stick. He really went for it, right? The immediacy of the marks, all those quick, scratchy lines, it’s like he’s trying to capture not just the image, but also the fleeting energy of destruction. There’s a real sense of movement and chaos. Look at how he uses the varying pressure of the lines to suggest depth and form, some areas are dark and dense, while others are light and airy, creating a dynamic push and pull across the surface. That little cluster of circles halfway down the right hand side – are they wheels, or maybe the tops of posts? Whatever they are, they bring a touch of almost abstract rhythm. You can really see the influence of artists like Daumier or maybe even later, someone like de Kooning, in this embrace of gesture and process over precise representation. It feels like he's saying something about the impermanence of things.