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Cavalry and an elegant lady on a bridge, The Hague by George Hendrik Breitner was most likely painted between the years 1883-1886, a time when the artist regularly sought inspiration in the comings and goings of ordinary people in the city’s poorer areas. It can be seen as a key painting in the artist’s development as he moved away from works depicting military subjects such as the artillery manoeuvres and the cavalry exercises he had witnessed in Scheveningen, Brabant and Arnhem, towards the iconic, Amsterdam city views for which he became so famous.

Breitner was a master of recording his immediate impressions with an energy he was able to translate directly into paint. His bold brushstrokes here are vivid and direct, and the composition is both daring and confronting. With a few swift lines he captures the moment; the lady with the umbrella, the movement of the horses and cavalry on the bridge. Striking contrasts created by the forms of the static houses in the background and the lively figures combine to make this painting remarkably impressive. In a striking way, Breitner suggests the exuberant atmosphere and pace of city life, drawing viewers’ attention at once to the lady in pink with her dog in the foreground. Here, where technique and subject-matter blend so perfectly, we find a vivid example of his distinctive Amsterdam Impressionist style, of which Breitner along with Isaac Israëls and Willem Witsen was the leading exponent.

More than just the subject matter, it is the bright colouring, the strong handling of light and contrast, the perfectly balanced composition, its excellent state of conservation and the fact this painting has been in private hands since circa 1905, that makes this canvas exceptional; facts that make it, undoubtedly, a masterpiece within the oeuvre of George Hendrik Breitner.