Gezicht op de Oude Kerk te Amsterdam 1909

George Hendrik Breitner captured this view of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam with graphite on paper. I imagine him quickly sketching, trying to catch the essence of the place, maybe the light was shifting, or maybe he wanted to capture the mood of the street. It’s interesting how he divided the paper into two distinct scenes, almost like two different takes on the same subject. The lines are so raw and immediate, you can almost feel the energy of his hand moving across the page. What was he thinking as he dashed down those lines? Did he labour over which lines to include, and which to leave out? You get the sense that he wanted to capture the everyday, the gritty reality of urban life. Breitner was part of a whole conversation among artists, each responding to their surroundings in their own way. This drawing reminds me of the work of other artists, like Adolph Menzel or Constantin Guys, who were also drawn to the hustle and bustle of city life. Each mark feels like a thought, a feeling, a moment in time.