Hoofd van Boeddha 1943

This is Reijer Stolk's 'Head of Buddha', made during the Second World War, its date inscribed at the bottom right. It's gold on black, a color pairing that immediately conveys value and seriousness. Look at the way the gold ink has been printed, almost like it's been burnished onto the surface. See how the face emerges out of the darkness? It’s all lines, circles and curves, but the way they come together suggests depth, and a serene wisdom. I find myself wondering about the almost hypnotic rhythm of the Buddha’s curly hair, made up of so many tiny, uniform marks. This repetitive process seems meditative, but what kind of meditation? Perhaps the controlled breathing kind, or perhaps a more frantic attempt to grapple with the realities of what it meant to be a Dutch artist in 1943. The Belgian artist, James Ensor comes to mind, a fellow northern European who mixed the sacred and the profane. Anyway, that's just my take, what do you think?