Schip vaart de haven van Londen binnen 1934 - 1936

This drawing was made by Leo Gestel, depicting a ship entering the port of London. It's all in black ink, with a flurry of marks that capture the scene. I can imagine Gestel standing there, rapidly sketching with his pen, trying to capture the energy of the scene. See how the ship dominates the picture plane, but the dynamism of the work comes from the marks describing the water, the sky and the factories in the background. Everything feels kind of unstable, as if the ship and city could dissolve at any moment. The black ink is thick in places, especially on the ship, but elsewhere it is a more washy, liquid line. It reminds me of other artists such as the Futurists, who tried to capture the feeling of movement and change in their art. You can feel the artist really trying to explore what a drawing or painting can do, and how one artist builds on the work of others. It's all one big conversation through time. Painting can be about not knowing, and allowing something interesting to happen.