Gezicht in Amsterdam met een figuur c. 1903

This is a graphite sketch on paper of a view in Amsterdam with a figure, by George Hendrik Breitner. I love how tentative the marks are, searching for the subject, with erasures barely suppressed beneath the visible lines. It's like seeing the artist think, right there on the page. The graphite is so light it almost disappears, and there’s a real sense of transparency here, of looking through the drawing to see the paper beneath. Take a look at the top right of the image, at the marks that delineate the figure. These lines, so provisional and fleeting, remind me of Cy Twombly's works, but with a gentler touch. Both artists embrace the unfinished, the imperfect, inviting us to participate in the act of seeing. Art making is a process, and this sketch captures one artist’s vision unfolding in real-time.