Huizenrij c. 1886 - 1923

Editor: This is "Huizenrij" or "Row of Houses," a pencil drawing by George Hendrik Breitner, dating sometime between 1886 and 1923. It feels so immediate, like a quick thought captured on paper. It is raw and kind of unfinished. What do you see in it? Curator: I see a cityscape reduced to its barest bones, a stage for the dramas of everyday life. The stark lines remind me of early forms of writing, almost pictographic. Buildings become symbols of shelter, of community, yet there's also a sense of isolation, wouldn't you agree? Do you notice how the density of the lines varies, creating a sense of depth and shadow, almost like coded information? Editor: That's interesting, this coded language! I hadn't thought of it that way. I was just thinking it looks like a scene anyone might sketch in their notebook. So, coded in what sense? Curator: Well, think about how urban landscapes evolve. Each brick, each window, each doorway carries echoes of past inhabitants, of architectural styles long gone, and social shifts. Breitner’s choice to strip these buildings down forces us to confront their essential nature but also what we project onto them: our memories, fears, hopes related to home and belonging. What emotional response does it provoke in you? Editor: Now that you mention it, there's something unsettling about their simplicity, maybe the emptiness, the lack of detail that might hint at life within. It's almost a ghost image of a city street. Curator: Exactly! And it's in this space between representation and abstraction that the symbolic power resides. We're not just looking at houses, but at the idea of ‘house,’ the idea of 'city,' loaded with personal and collective meanings. Editor: I see what you mean! It is deceptively simple, holding deeper ideas about memory and urban experience. I wouldn't have picked up on that without your insights! Curator: And I see the value of viewing artworks with fresh eyes, without preconceptions, so thank you!