Staande figuren met gebogen knieën

Reijer Stolk made this pencil sketch called, 'Standing Figures with Bent Knees,' sometime before 1945. What I love about sketches is the feeling of process, like you're catching the artist in the act of thinking. Here, the figures are built from simple, looping lines. Look at the figure on the left. It's all curves, like a melting snowman. Then, beside it, the figure on the right is constructed from straight lines, more like a robot. Stolk is exploring different ways of representing the body. It's like he's asking, "How little can I do and still suggest a person?" The lines themselves are tentative, searching. They remind me of Picasso's quick figure drawings, but with a touch of vulnerability. Both artists use a kind of shorthand, letting the viewer fill in the blanks. For me, this piece shows that art is about exploration, not just about perfect representation.