Kop 1906 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this drawing of a face, called Kop, using graphite on paper. The marks are so sure, and so quick, it’s like he’s trying to catch a thought before it disappears. Look at that big triangular cheekbone, all solid and dark, right? It’s balanced out by the softer, lighter lines everywhere else. The way the graphite smudges just a little makes it feel like the face is breathing, shifting. The eyes are different sizes, and slightly misaligned, adding to the feeling of a fleeting impression, or a memory trying to come into focus. It reminds me a bit of Picasso's early sketches, where he's figuring out how to break down a face into its essential parts. Stolk isn't trying to give us a perfect likeness; he’s after something more alive, more human, more about the process of seeing itself.