Hoofd van Boeddha 1943

Reijer Stolk made this ‘Head of Buddha’ in 1919, using etching and aquatint. The almost monochromatic scheme gives a sense of quiet reflection. The face is brown, and the paper is white, very simple. I'm always interested in how artists make their marks and, in this case, the aquatint gives a granular, textured surface that softens the image, which keeps it from being too rigid or stylized. I think the textures also remind us of the material qualities of the face, of it being made of earth. I keep coming back to that small white circle in the centre of the forehead; it’s the only bright element in the composition, and it draws your eye like a point of concentrated energy. It reminds me of Agnes Martin’s work, how she could create so much with so little. It suggests not just the third eye, but this idea that art, like meditation, can open us up to new ways of seeing and being.