Gezicht op de Nieuwe Kerk te Amsterdam Possibly 1907 - 1911

This sketch, Gezicht op de Nieuwe Kerk te Amsterdam, made by George Hendrik Breitner, seems to be a quick, graphite notation of ships or building under construction. The lines are all energy, and this gives the drawing its sense of immediacy, like a jazz riff. Notice how some of the lines are darker and more emphatic than others; they are the artist deciding what is important to keep and what to throw away, like a process of distillation. The paper is allowed to breathe around the marks, and this creates a sense of space and light. Take the lines suggesting the hull of the boat on the left page; they're not carefully rendered, but they are full of life. For me this sketchy quality puts me in mind of Cy Twombly, in the way that he captured the essence of a form with just a few lines. It’s less about the thing, and more about the thinking around the thing.