Art Gallery

George Hendrik Breitner (1857-1923), Dutch painter, draughtsman and photographer was one of the the most important Amsterdam impressionists. In his The Hague period he painted pieces with horsemen and in Amsterdam he painted city views and pieces of city life. 

His most characteristic early works influenced by the Hague School, notably by Mesdag and Willem Maris, were pictures of horsemen, but a visit to Paris in 1884 brought him under the spell of Impressionism. In 1886 he settled in Amsterdam and became particularly associated with scenes of its busy harbour, its architecture, and its bustling street life. The unposed 'snapshot' compositions of many of these paintings reflect his interest in photography (Paleisstraat, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, c. 1896). After 1910, owing to ill health, he practically ceased to paint.

From: Dordrechts Museum