Katten 1906 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this drawing of cats with a pencil on paper. It’s a loose sketch, and it’s alive with observation. You get a real sense of Stolk watching the cats, maybe for a long time, just getting a feel for their essence. It makes me think about how an artist sees. It's like the cat is saying, “Draw me like one of your Dutch girls." The cats' poses suggest a moment of relaxation. One is curled up, another is sitting, and another is walking. They feel like they are from life, not from imagination. Stolk did this drawing sometime before 1945, and you can imagine other artists making sketches of cats, too. It reminds me of Hockney drawing his dogs. There is something about animals that just makes artists want to draw! Making art is like having a conversation across time. One artist sees another's work and thinks, “I can do that,” and then they do something completely different. It's a beautiful thing.