1857 -1923 · Amsterdam Impressionism, photography and city under construction

Workers, horses, snow, cut streets and instant photographs make George Hendrik Breitner the most direct painter of modern Amsterdam.

George Hendrik Breitner was born in Rotterdam in 1857, but above all became the great painter of Amsterdam. Trained at the Hague Academy, he first worked with Willem Maris and attended the Hague School. His first works favored soldiers, military maneuvers and galloping horses; The Yellow Riders, acquired by the Rijksmuseum in 1886, imposed his name. In the mid-1880s, inspired by French naturalist literature and in particular Émile Zola, Breitner decided to become a "people's painter". In the mid-1880s, inspired by French naturalist literature and in particular Émile Zola, Breitner decided to become a "people's painter". In the mid-1880s, inspired by French naturalist literature and in particular Émile Zola, Breitner decided to become a "people's painter". In the mid-1880s, inspired by French naturalist literature and in particular Émile Zola, Breitner decided to become a "people's painter". In the mid-1880s, inspired by French naturalist literature and in particular Émile Zola, Breitner decided to become a "people's painter". In the mid-1 rapid transformation of canals, new avenues and construction areas. Construction in Amsterdam does not celebrate completed architecture: upturned earth, fences, materials, silhouettes of workers and urban mass reveal the very process of modernization. Its broad and often rough touch aims less to describe every detail than to produce the immediate impression of wet weather, displacement or construction. From 1889, Breitner used photography as a study tool. His broad and often rough touch was aimed less at describing every detail than at producing the immediate impression of wet weather, displacement or construction. From 1889, Breitner used photography as a study tool. His frontal views, partially cut figures and unbalanced framing passed into painting and initially confused critics. Between 1893 and 1896, the youth series women in kimonos, with Geesje Kwak as a model, combine Japonism, color and intimacy. A tireless designer, Breitner always takes a notebook; the Rijksmuseum canned one hundred and nineteen. In 1902, Arti and Amicitiae dedicated the first major retrospective of a contemporary artist to him. Died in 1923, he left paintings, watercolors, thousands of drawings and photographs: a sensory archive of the city lived. Died in 1923, he left paintings, watercolors, thousands of drawings and photographs: a sensory archive of the city lived. Died in 1923, he left paintings, watercolors, thousands of drawings and photographs: a sensory archive of the city lived. Died in 1923, he left paintings, watercolors, thousands of drawings and photographs: a sensory archive of the city lived. Died in 1923, he left paintings, watercolors, thousands of drawings and photographs: a sensory archive of the city lived. Died in 1923, he left paintings, watercolors, thousands of drawings and photographs: a sensory archive of the city lived. Died in 1923, he left

Breitner paints Amsterdam from inside the movement: the street cuts the frame, the worker walks through the mud, and the city appears as it transforms.