Grazend paard 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this drawing, Grazend paard, with graphite, most likely, on paper. I can feel how he’s coaxing out the form with these quiet grey marks. It’s that lovely, in-between moment when the horse is just appearing, like it’s stepping out of the mist. I wonder what Gestel was thinking about when he made this. Was he just trying to nail the anatomy or the spirit of the animal? Or was it more about the feeling of the charcoal in his hand, the way it moved across the surface? See how thin he renders the legs, compared to the more emphatic outline of the back. I can imagine him stepping back, squinting, and then leaning in again to add a little shadow here, a little line there. Each mark is a decision, a little correction, a way of feeling his way toward the truth of the horse. It makes me want to pick up a pencil myself and see what happens. It’s all just one big conversation, isn’t it?