Twee zittende mannen c. 1916

Reijer Stolk made this drawing of two sitting men, we don't know exactly when, with what looks like a graphite stick. What’s so cool about a drawing like this is how immediate it is. It’s the kind of thing you can do anywhere. You could be on a train, at a cafe, or even just sitting at home, doodling while you’re on the phone. I imagine Stolk watching these men and thinking, "How can I capture this moment with as few lines as possible?" He’s not trying to be perfect, just trying to get the essence of what he sees. Look at the way he suggests the hat on one figure with just a few quick strokes. It's like he's saying, "Okay, here's a hat, now let's move on." The way he’s captured these figures reminds me a bit of work by other artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. There is a sketchy, almost unfinished quality that lets us fill in the blanks. It’s really about the act of seeing and recording, capturing a fleeting moment in time.