Ex libris voor J. Slagter (ontwerp) c. 1935 - 1940

This is Leo Gestel’s sketch for an Ex Libris, a bookplate, for J. Slagter. It's rendered in pencil, all tentative lines and ghostly echoes of the ‘finished’ design, full of process. I love the way Gestel lays out the image, with one fully articulated head in profile, facing left, and next to it, a faint double image of another head facing right. It’s like seeing the initial idea and the revision right there on the page. The faces have a strong stylized quality, almost classical in their stoicism. The inscription is neatly squared off above and below the image. The pencil work is delicate, creating subtle gradations of tone, giving the image a kind of depth. The surface of the paper itself becomes part of the artwork, adding a tactile dimension to the design. Gestel’s play with duplication makes me think of early Cubist portraits where multiple perspectives are layered onto one another. This sketch is a reminder that art is a conversation, an ongoing exploration, always open to new interpretations.