Lot 1568 Rα

George Henrik Breitner studied at the academy in The Hague from 1875 - 1878, after which he worked as a drawing teacher at the academies of Leiden and Rotterdam. He also assisted in painting Mesdag's “Panorama Scheveningen” and in the studio of Willem Maris. He met Vincent van Gogh in 1882 and accompanied him to The Hague in search of motifs. Four years later, Breitner settled in Amsterdam, where the Rijksmuseum purchased one of his works in the same year. The artist travelled extensively, visiting destinations such as Paris, Norway, London and the USA.
Alongside Isaac Israels, Breitner was one of the leading exponents of Impressionism in Amsterdam. He was initially interested in depicting horses and riders, and the present work is an excellent example from this phase. Breitner visited cavalry displays in Northern Brabant, although he was less interested in the military subject and more in the movement of the horses and the depiction of light. The style of brushwork in this painting is typical of Breitner's oeuvre. He worked generously and spontaneously with broad, dynamic strokes, caring little for details. Also typical is the sharp contrast between the earthy tones of the landscape, the pale horizon and the dark clouds along the upper edge of the work.