Paard-en-wagen Possibly 1907 - 1911

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing of a horse and cart with graphite on paper. I love how tentative these lines are. You know, that feeling when you just want to get something down fast, but you don’t want to commit too much too soon? It’s like Breitner’s hand was just lightly dancing across the page, trying to capture the essence of the scene without getting bogged down in detail. I can almost see him there, squinting his eyes, quickly sketching away before the horse and cart trundle off down the road. The image looks like it might have been done in preparation for one of his more finished paintings. I imagine him going back to his studio and thinking, ok, how can I take this initial idea and really run with it, let the colours sing and the brushstrokes dance? It’s like he's asking himself, what can I add to this to make it truly sing? It is this process of experimentation that makes painting so alive.