Portret van Coba Stolk-Schmidt 1906 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this portrait of Coba Stolk-Schmidt at an unknown date with an unknown medium. The grey hues have a beautiful looseness which tells me that Stolk was interested in the process, in the *doing* of art, rather than just the end result. There is a real textural element to this drawing, and the slightly scrappy marks lend a feeling of incompleteness, like a memory or an impression. Look at the marks around her neck and collar, there's such a bold darkness to them, almost as if the artist is trying to drag this woman into being. I'm reminded of Käthe Kollwitz's drawings, in the way Stolk uses the graphic quality of the medium to capture a feeling, to make something emotionally resonant, rather than aiming for a purely mimetic representation. This drawing really captures how art is about conversations and exchange of ideas across time.