Figuurstudie 1919

Reijer Stolk made this pen drawing on paper, titled "Figuurstudie", sometime before 1945. It's all about the line, isn't it? Stolk uses a sort of scribbly, all-over mark-making to suggest form. There's something so alive about the way he lets the pen dance across the page. The texture created by these dense lines gives the figure a kind of vibrating energy, even though it’s just a sketch. It's not about perfection or representation, but about capturing the essence of a figure in space. The marks aren't precious, but they build up and overlap. Look closely, you can almost feel the artist working through his observations, building the figure with each stroke. There’s an immediacy to it, like he’s trying to keep up with his own eye. Stolk’s drawing reminds me of work by Willem de Kooning, where the act of drawing or painting becomes the main subject. It’s about the thinking and feeling made visible through the gesture, embracing the beauty of imperfection.