Zittende naakte figuur 1906 - 1945

This drawing of a seated nude figure was made by Reijer Stolk sometime between 1896 and 1945, and it's currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. Look how lightly the artist approached this sketch. It feels like Stolk was thinking through form, working and reworking, with marks trailing all over the page. Notice how the figure seems to have a double, a ghost image right behind her. The lines are so tentative, and yet they manage to convey the weight of a body in space. Especially that simple line that defines the sitter's back and shoulder – it is both delicate and strong. This piece reminds me of other figurative works where artists like to show their process, their thought. It reminds me of a Cy Twombly drawing, where the beauty lies not in perfection but in the raw, unfiltered exploration of form. To me, art is often about the dialogue between artists across time, an ongoing conversation through marks and gestures.