George Hendrik Breitner, 1857-1923
Nationality: Dutch
Date of Birth: 12 September 1857
Place of Birth: Rotterdam
Place of Death: Aerdenhout 1923
Identity:
George Hendrik Breitner was a painter, printmaker and photographer.
Life:
Breitner studied in The Hague and later in the studio of Willem Maris. Under Maris's influence and that of the Hague school he took to plein-air painting of city and dockside life. From 1886 he worked in Amsterdam where he used photography extensively in his work.
As well as Amsterdam he recorded the urban life of London, Paris and Berlin through the camera lens; the spontaneous quality of his painting technique and his fondness for diagonal compositions document the strong relationship between his photographs and paintings.
In 1901 he was an honorary member of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (#02355).
Bibliography:
Bénézit, E., Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, 8 vols, Paris, 1956-61; Boom, M., 'George Hendrik Breitner,' Grove Dictionary of Art Online, http://www.groveart.com (accessed 19 July 2004).