Gezicht van een man 1906 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this drawing of a face on a page torn from a notebook. You can almost feel him sketching the lines of the face, erasing, starting over, finding the form through this scratching process. The paper is thin and ephemeral, adding a sense of lightness to the work. I imagine Stolk hunched over this page, maybe in a cafe or on a train, his mind racing with thoughts and ideas. The numbers and lists scattered around the face make me think this wasn't just a portrait. Maybe it was a way for him to let his mind wander, letting the face emerge amidst the chaos of his thoughts. There’s a vulnerability in the sketch-like quality of the image, and a directness that reminds me of Twombly’s scrawls and notations. It’s as if Stolk is inviting us into his studio, into the messy, imperfect, and deeply human process of making art. We’re all connected through this process, reaching across time, inspiring one another's creativity.