Kop van een man 1906 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this drawing called, "Kop van een man", with graphite on paper. It's all about line, a nervous web of scratching that makes a face appear. You can almost feel the artist working through his thoughts, feeling around for the form. It's a real reminder that art-making is a process, not just a product. The paper itself is visible; you can see the spiral binding and the faint lines of the notebook. It feels intimate. The pressure of the pencil varies across the page, with some lines barely visible and others more firmly etched. Around the eyes, the lines are more frantic and intense, hinting at the focus of the artist's gaze. Looking at the drawing reminds me of Cy Twombly's scribbled drawings, but there's also something very human and vulnerable here that sets it apart. It is like peeking into the artist's mind as he grapples with the complexities of portraying the human form. The beauty of this drawing lies in its ambiguity, its ability to suggest form without fully defining it.