Kop van een man met een hoed 1906 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this drawing of a man with a hat, date unknown, with graphite on paper. I love how the tentative lines search for a form, like the artist is feeling his way through the subject, almost as if he is trying to get a sense of the sitter rather than a likeness. The lines feel almost ephemeral, like a thought, quickly captured and then allowed to fade. Look at the way the hat is rendered, with these decisive, almost architectural strokes, that contrast with the softer, more ambiguous rendering of the face. It makes me think of those drawings by Giacometti, where the subject seems to be dissolving before our eyes, always in process, never quite fixed. Ultimately, art is an ongoing conversation and embrace of ambiguity.