Lijst met namen 1906 - 1945

This is a page from a book, a list of names made by Reijer Stolk. What can we know about it from its markings? The handwriting makes me think about his hand moving across the page, the slight tremor or assuredness in each stroke, and the physical act of writing itself. The x's and -'s, some more emphatic than others, make me think he's counting, or checking off items. Maybe he's an accountant, or just someone making a record of who's around and who's not? I wonder about the way the ink sits on the paper, how it must have felt smooth or rough under the pen, maybe like egg tempera or fresco, which is so different to oil. I think about the artist, about Stolk, and how he thought about his practice in relation to other painters. It's all one big conversation, after all, each artist building on the work of those who came before, or pushing against it. Like a game of tennis, volleying ideas and techniques back and forth through time.