Boer met hond 1927

Leo Gestel made this drawing called 'Boer met hond', or 'Farmer with dog', with what looks like charcoal on paper. Gestel's process feels very direct, like he's building up the image with layers of rough marks and erasures. The material quality is so present here; the grainy texture of the charcoal gives everything a kind of soft focus, which also creates a sense of distance. Look at the way the light catches the farmer's face, and how it subtly defines the form of the dog. It's like Gestel is letting the material speak for itself, embracing the inherent qualities of charcoal to evoke atmosphere and mood. The drawing is both representational and deeply abstract. Gestel was working around the time of the cubists like Picasso and Braque, and you can see a similar interest in simplified forms and fractured perspectives. But unlike the cubists, who were often trying to represent multiple viewpoints at once, Gestel seems more interested in capturing the feeling of a particular place and time. It's a quiet, contemplative piece that invites us to slow down and really look.