Twee paarden en een veulen 1926 - 1928

Curator: Here we have a drawing by Leo Gestel, entitled "Twee paarden en een veulen", made sometime between 1926 and 1928. Editor: My first thought? Elegant restraint. Just the essential lines, yet you instantly understand the tenderness in the relationship here. Curator: Indeed. The medium is simply pencil on paper, allowing us to really focus on Gestel’s minimalist approach to form and composition. Note how the positioning of the horses creates a protective enclosure around the foal. Editor: It’s like they are deliberately placed there to guard the little one. A safe little space, visualized only by a series of very economical lines, a lovely haiku of a drawing! Curator: We could see this too through the lens of figuration. While not hyperrealistic, Gestel captures the essence of equine form with incredible precision. Editor: What strikes me is the implicit narrative. We only see the animals; there's no sign of human interaction. Yet, somehow, I intuit their individual characters –the mother's watchful calm, the foal's innocent dependence. You project human feelings, human relations onto them. Maybe we always do that, don’t you think? Curator: Perhaps, though the interplay of light and shadow, or rather, the deliberate lack thereof, reinforces the simplicity of the scene and Gestel’s intention is not sentimental. The pure outline does encourage that formal purity. Editor: I think what's interesting too is to think that the minimal outline gives space to our own imagination to play around, to inhabit and in-fill, as we contemplate the relationships that are rendered so deftly and lightly. Curator: Absolutely. A masterclass in suggestion, in using just enough line to convey an entire story, with just enough emotional content. Editor: It's a privilege to stand here, really, and connect with art. Curator: One can easily feel Gestel has invited you into the intimacy of a family grouping.