Portret van Thomas Woodrow Wilson 1934 - 1936

This is Leo Gestel's portrait of Thomas Woodrow Wilson, made with ink on paper. It is a drawing that captures the immediacy of mark-making. Gestel's hand is evident in the swift lines defining Wilson's profile. Look at the hatching on the face, it looks like the marks that you get on skin when you have slept on it funny. The texture of the paper peeks through, becoming an active part of the composition. It's like Gestel is thinking aloud, the lines searching and finding form through a process of continuous adjustment. The confidence of the overall line gives the portrait its presence. I'm reminded a little of Picasso's line drawings, where a single contour can encapsulate a whole world of feeling and thought. Gestel’s portrait is less about likeness and more about the essence of the man – the weight of his decisions, the gravity of his gaze. Art is a conversation, and Gestel here is in dialogue with the past and future of portraiture.