Zelfportret 1920

This is Reijer Stolk’s self-portrait, a small pencil drawing full of sharp angles and surprising depth. I’m immediately struck by how Stolk breaks down his face into these geometric planes, almost like a Cubist sculpture. The marks are direct, unblended, and unapologetically raw. It’s as if Stolk is mapping out the contours of his face, not just as he sees them, but as he understands them structurally. Look at the way the shading shifts from light to dark, creating a sense of volume with minimal fuss. There's a real economy of means, the way a few lines define the brow, or the delicate hatching suggests the shadow under the nose. It reminds me a little of some drawings by Schiele, maybe, in its intensity, but with its own kind of quiet confidence. And isn’t that what a self-portrait should be? A moment of self-reflection, a dialogue between the artist and the mirror, full of the ambiguities and multiple facets that make us who we are.