Honden 1906 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this drawing of three dogs with pencil on paper, and it is just so wonderfully playful. The pencil lines are thin and almost tentative, like he's feeling his way around the shapes of the dogs. The dogs overlap, creating a sense of depth, but also a bit of confusion. Where does one dog end and another begin? It's like a puzzle. The lines feel so immediate and direct, there's no fussiness. Stolk is just trying to capture the essence of these dogs, their weight, their posture, their stillness. I love the way the lines trail off in places, suggesting forms rather than defining them. It's like he's saying, "Here's the idea of a dog, take it or leave it." And in the bottom dog the head is barely even there! It reminds me of Picasso’s sketches, just trying to get at the essence of something. Art as an ongoing conversation, right? It’s a kind of shorthand, and I’m all for it.