Bloem c. 1916 - 1945

Reijer Stolk created this pencil drawing called 'Bloem' sometime before his death in 1945. This unassuming sketch hints at the complex role of artists in times of conflict. Stolk was part of the Dutch resistance during the Second World War, using his artistic skills for forgery. The delicate rendering of this flower belies the dangerous context in which it was created. Consider the politics of imagery during wartime. Art became a tool for resistance, a means of subverting Nazi oppression. Stolk’s choice of a flower, a symbol of peace and beauty, might be seen as a direct contrast to the violence and destruction of the war. To fully understand this work, we can look into the archives of the Dutch resistance, examining the role of artists and the visual strategies they employed. In doing so, we recognize the power of art as a form of defiance and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.