Gezicht in Amsterdam 1912

This charcoal sketch of Amsterdam by George Hendrik Breitner captures the essence of urban life through the architectural motifs of the building and street. The vertical lines indicating depth evoke a sense of being surrounded by the city's architecture. We can observe the windows, which appear as dark rectangles that symbolize enclosed spaces. Windows have historically represented portals to the outside world, but here, they may signify the isolation of modern life, each window a separate world within the larger cityscape. Consider the recurring presence of windows in art, from Renaissance portraits to modern urban landscapes. Their symbolic meaning has shifted, from the divine light entering sacred spaces to the mundane or even alienated view of contemporary existence. This cyclical progression in window symbolism reflects our changing relationship with the world around us. Like the recurring motifs in dreams, these symbols persist.