Portretten van mannen c. 1916 - 1945

Reijer Stolk created "Portretten van mannen", or "Portraits of Men", as a pencil drawing sometime before 1945, now in the Rijksmuseum. The composition presents a collection of male faces, each rendered with minimal lines. Stolk captures the essence of each character through the curve of a nose, the set of the jaw, and the depth of an eye socket. The varying profiles are stacked atop one another, creating a sense of depth. The use of line is crucial here. Stolk’s economy of means suggests a deeper psychological exploration. The sketch-like quality might remind us of the rapid capturing of fleeting impressions, aligning with the expressionist movement's concern with subjective experience. The absence of shading or color forces us to focus on the essential forms and the relationships between them. The cumulative effect of these portraits is not just a study of individual men but an inquiry into the very nature of representation. The starkness of the lines serves to challenge our perception, inviting us to look beyond mere surface appearances.