Twee zeemeeuwen en het gezicht van een vrouw by Leo Gestel

Twee zeemeeuwen en het gezicht van een vrouw

1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel's Profile Picture

Leo Gestel

1881 - 1941

Location

Rijksmuseum
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Artwork details

Medium
drawing, paper, ink
Dimensions
height 210 mm, width 260 mm
Location
Rijksmuseum
Copyright
Rijks Museum: Open Domain

Tags

#portrait#drawing#quirky sketch#pen illustration#pen sketch#paper#ink line art#personal sketchbook#ink#ink drawing experimentation#pen-ink sketch#abstraction#line#sketchbook drawing#fantasy sketch#initial sketch

About this artwork

Leo Gestel made this pen drawing, "Two Seagulls and the Face of a Woman," on paper, and who knows when? The whole thing's a quick sketch, loose and flowing, with lines that feel like they're thinking out loud. He's not precious about detail. The seagulls are suggested more than described, and the woman's face is just a hint, floating in the mix. I love the way the lines create a sense of movement, like the water's rippling or the birds are swooping. Look at how the lines around the woman's face bleed into the waves, it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. It's kind of dreamy, like a memory or a fleeting thought. Reminds me a bit of Odilon Redon's symbolist drawings, all about mood and suggestion, rather than clarity. Art's not about answers, is it? It's about opening up questions, letting the image resonate in its own weird way.

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