Karikatuur van Leo Gestel en zijn vrouw met bloemen in de hand 1891 - 1941

Curator: Isn't it delightful? Here we have a pencil drawing from the Rijksmuseum collection titled "Caricature of Leo Gestel and his wife with flowers in hand," created sometime between 1891 and 1941. Editor: My initial thought? It’s like looking at a mischievous puppet show. The faces are so exaggerated, almost comically sinister. The frenetic pencil lines give it such a raw, immediate feel. Curator: Indeed. As a caricature, it leans into exaggerated features. Notice how Gestel, identifiable in the foreground, offers a bouquet. There’s something simultaneously loving and biting about it. Editor: Those flowers…are they an apology, or an accusation? Perhaps love IS both, tangled together. And I love how the multiple sketches give it the feel of a moving, evolving thought. It's like seeing the artist's process in real time, scratching out the essence of Leo and his wife. Are we meant to think the artist struggled to represent his subjects? Or, do we feel the artist intended the different representations as distinct stages, iterations or alternatives? Curator: I agree—that impression of “real time” makes this particularly special, with these floating and phantom iterations of faces. This almost gives the figures a dreamlike or eternal status, untethered to the present. Flowers are complicated, but an enduring symbol nonetheless—love, peace, sympathy, apologies. Gestel seems aware of their complexities in relationship. Editor: You can almost hear the silent laughter bubbling beneath the surface. Those sharp noses, the almost predatory grins… the subconscious does love to leak into the artistic process. It all comes across with startling immediacy and an economy of line. A portrait boils down to what cannot be said outright! Curator: Precisely! These caricatures capture essences that a more formal portrait might miss. And to catch the feeling through line work is such a trick. Editor: There's a stark truthfulness in this, wouldn't you say? No attempt to soften, only amplify and explore. Curator: Absolutely, what a statement this caricature manages to project, what the couple has meant to one another over their long trajectory as partners! Editor: That makes me want to rush home and grab my own sketchpad! What could I express about my loved ones or about myself in such a brief sketch? Curator: Right? "Karikatuur van Leo Gestel en zijn vrouw met bloemen in de hand"—such simple materials, and the idea lingers with you long after you walk away.