Hoofd van een vrouw met opgestoken haar c. 1916

This is Reijer Stolk’s pencil drawing of a woman with her hair up. Although undated, we can situate Stolk within a generation of artists who came of age in the interwar years. The woman’s gaze is directed downward, an averted glance that evokes a sense of modesty. While the drawing gives us few material details, the woman’s posture and attire suggest the cultural norms and expectations of women during this era. The drawing exists in a tension between the traditional representation of women and the burgeoning alternative narratives influenced by shifting social dynamics. Stolk was involved in resistance work during the Second World War, and this drawing feels like a quiet, intimate act of defiance. It reflects both societal constraints and the dignity of the individual.