Studie, mogelijk van een boot c. 1903

This graphite drawing, tentatively titled 'Studie, mogelijk van een boot', was created by George Hendrik Breitner. The composition is immediately striking for its fragmentation. Lines intersect and overlap to create planes, but without fully resolving into a coherent image. Breitner teases us with glimpses of what might be architectural elements or parts of a vessel, yet the drawing resists easy interpretation. The spatial relationships are ambiguous, challenging our perception and understanding. The artist seems less concerned with representing the external world, and more intrigued by line and form. This aligns with the shift in art toward abstraction and subjective experience during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The drawing functions as a sign, pointing beyond itself to broader cultural and philosophical themes about the nature of representation and the instability of meaning. It shows us how an artist engages with the world not through direct transcription, but through a process of questioning and re-imagining.