Paard c. 1900 - 1923

George Hendrik Breitner made this drawing, Paard, with a graphite pencil on paper. I love the openness and lightness of it. It's just a quick sketch, like the artist was trying to capture the horse’s essence with as few lines as possible. Look at how the lines vary in pressure and thickness. Some are bold and assertive, defining the main contours, while others are faint and almost disappear into the paper. The texture of the paper itself becomes part of the drawing, with its subtle grain showing through. The horse is suggested with a minimal amount of detail. But that’s the beauty of it. Breitner isn’t trying to give us a perfect representation, instead, he's offering a glimpse of a horse in motion, a fleeting impression. This sketch reminds me of other artists who embrace the unfinished and the imperfect, like Cy Twombly, who used simple lines to capture huge depth.