Gezichten op het Damrak te Amsterdam c. 1903

Here is the drawing *Gezichten op het Damrak te Amsterdam* by George Hendrik Breitner made with pencil on paper. It’s a flurry of lines, isn’t it? Like quicksilver thoughts captured on the page, a cascade of impressions. I imagine Breitner standing on the Damrak in Amsterdam, sketchbook in hand, trying to capture the essence of the place, the faces of the buildings, the energy of the street. What he’s doing is trying to put his finger on something, a feeling, a memory, a flash of light. Look at the way he’s sketched those buildings—angular, a bit shaky, but full of life. You can almost feel the wind blowing through the canals, hear the rumble of the trams. There’s a tenderness to the touch, the light pressure of the pencil on the page. It reminds me of other artists who sketch, artists like Degas, the quickness, the urgency of the moment. And it makes me want to grab my own sketchbook and start drawing, see what emerges from the chaos of lines and shapes.