Benen c. 1916

Reijer Stolk made this drawing, Benen, with a graphite pencil, and the lines feel really immediate, like a fleeting thought captured on paper. The pressure of the pencil varies, giving some lines more weight than others, which is so important because this variation creates depth and volume with such minimal means. Look at how the lines describing the legs overlap and intersect. There’s a real sense of seeing the artist work through the problem of representing form. It reminds me of drawings by Paula Modersohn-Becker, who also used simple lines to convey so much about the human form. It’s like Stolk is inviting us to participate in the process of seeing, rather than presenting us with a finished, polished statement. Ultimately, this drawing is about the act of looking and recording, about the artist's engagement with the world, and art's ability to be a conduit for that exchange.