Op de grond zittende figuren c. 1916 - 1945

Reijer Stolk made this drawing of figures seated on the ground with pencil on paper. I’m immediately drawn to how little information Stolk gives us – just a few lines suggest the human form. Looking closely, you can see how the pencil lines are tentative, searching. The whole image feels like it’s in process, and for me, that's where its beauty lies. The artist is not trying to make a perfect likeness, but rather to capture a feeling or an essence, which I see as the artist working through the possibilities of the image. I keep coming back to the spot on the central figure's body that seems to be a smudge of some kind. It’s the only dark mark, and it gives the whole piece an almost melancholic feel. This work puts me in mind of work by Guston, and his ability to suggest so much with just a few marks. Both artists remind us that art is an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time.