Ruiter 1884 - 1886

This is a charcoal drawing of a rider, created by George Hendrik Breitner, who lived from 1857 to 1923. Breitner was part of a generation of artists who turned their attention to the everyday lives of people in rapidly changing cities like Amsterdam. Breitner, like many artists of his time, was interested in capturing movement. Look at the frenetic strokes of charcoal, which convey a sense of the horse and rider in motion. What does it mean to capture movement, and why does it matter? Think about how photography, a relatively new technology at the time, influenced artists. Breitner lived and worked in a society marked by social and economic divisions, which he captured in his art. Consider how the depiction of a rider might reflect these class divisions, with the rider representing a figure of authority or privilege. The emotional weight of this drawing resides in its fleeting quality; the rider is here and then gone. How might our perception of this image change if we knew more about the rider's identity or social standing?