De koetsier 1979

Dirkje Kuik made this drawing, "De koetsier," with delicate lines that feel both precise and free. Imagine Kuik's hand moving across the paper, the pencil sketching out the coachman's form—hat, face, and beard emerging from a haze of graphite. You get a sense of the artist's curiosity, exploring the figure through layers of lines, building up shadows and volume with each stroke. The cross-hatching on the coachman’s chest is intense and deliberate. I wonder what Kuik was thinking as she made this? Was she interested in the coachman's authority, or perhaps the weight of his responsibility? It reminds me of other drawings by artists like Käthe Kollwitz, who also used line to express emotion and social commentary. All of these artists are connected through gesture and intention, echoing through time. Ultimately, the drawing invites us to contemplate the act of seeing itself, the ways in which artists translate the world onto paper, and how we, in turn, make meaning from their marks.