Twee staande vrouwen 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this drawing of two standing women using graphite on paper. It's pretty minimal. You know, looking at the graphic quality of the sketch I can imagine Gestel making quick marks, a flurry of activity as he worked to capture the figures, almost as if he was racing against time. I wonder what was on his mind? You get the sense these women are kind of monumental and modern, like they’re about to step off the page and into our world. The woman to the left almost appears as a ghostlike figure, slightly blurred, or out of focus. Perhaps it's a way for Gestel to play with perception, inviting us to consider multiple perspectives simultaneously, and how a single motif can be a source of ongoing reflection, just like the paintings of his contemporaries. I find the linear qualities of the graphite so satisfying and strangely beautiful.