Portret van een man c. 1916

Reijer Stolk made this portrait of a man with what looks like a graphite pencil on paper. The surface of the paper is almost bare, with pale marks dancing around each other. The drawing is very much about the process, isn't it? I can imagine Stolk making and remaking lines, searching for the form, or maybe even just enjoying the feel of the pencil. Notice how the lines around the eyes are dark and dense, while the ones around the neck are light and fleeting. It's like the artist is saying, "I'm not sure, let me try again." And that's what I love about drawing, that sense of possibility, of not knowing exactly where you're going, but trusting the process to get you there. The drawing reminds me of Giacometti's portraits, that same feeling of searching, of trying to capture something that's always just out of reach. Art's an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, isn't it?