Liggend naakt c. 1930 - 1941

Leo Gestel’s ‘Reclining Nude’ is a drawing made with charcoal and chalk on paper. The drawing has been built up through mark-making: loose scribbles, deliberate contours, and areas of smudged, blurred shading. Look closely, and you can see the texture of the paper coming through. The effect is one of light and shadow, with the white chalk giving form to the female nude. There is something very immediate about a drawing like this; a direct connection between the artist’s hand and the material. Gestel uses this medium to explore form, and to imbue the figure with a sense of life and energy. The combination of charcoal, chalk, and paper serves to reveal the process, and the work involved in its production. In doing so, the drawing encourages us to consider the labour and skill involved in making art. It blurs the boundaries between high art and craft; between the idea and its physical manifestation.