Zittende naakte figuur naast een vaas met bloemen c. 1916

Reijer Stolk made this drawing, 'Zittende naakte figuur naast een vaas met bloemen', with colored pencil, and it’s like a flurry of thoughts captured on paper. The marks are direct, immediate – there's no messing around here. You get the sense that Stolk was working fast, trying to keep up with an idea that was just out of reach. Look at how he renders the figure, a series of short, parallel strokes that create the illusion of volume and light. The blues around the figure feel like a shadow, or perhaps the atmosphere of the room. The vase of flowers, rendered in greens and reds, offers a pop of color amidst the more subdued tones. It reminds me a bit of Picasso's more frenetic drawings, where the energy of the line becomes just as important as the subject matter itself. This piece feels like an invitation into Stolk's process, a glimpse into the messy, beautiful struggle of trying to capture something fleeting and alive. It's a reminder that art is often more about the questions than the answers.