Twee paarden en een koe 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this sketch of two horses and a cow on paper, but the date of its creation is unknown. It's like seeing the artist thinking. He uses these light pencil marks to try out and work through the forms that interest him. Looking at the rearing horse in the bottom right, you can see the sketchy lines used to create the chest, the repeated marks trying to find the right volume and shape. There's a real sense of the hand at work here, not trying to hide itself. Gestel is not trying to create the illusion of an animal, more like capturing the feeling of horse-ness. You could put this sketch next to something by Franz Marc. Both artists seem interested in animals as a way of exploring their own inner states, with their expressive renderings suggesting something beyond the purely representational. It shows how art can be an ongoing conversation across time, with artists sharing and reinventing ideas.