Drie paarden 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this sketch entitled ‘Three Horses’ in the Netherlands at the beginning of the twentieth century with a pencil on paper. Gestel came from a family of artists and was keenly aware of new artistic movements. Gestel developed an early interest in the symbolist movement, which explored esoteric and spiritual themes. He later worked in a variety of styles, including luminism, expressionism, and cubism. Here, the unfinished, expressive lines used to render the horses leave the drawing open to different interpretations. The rough lines used here could represent the working class as a social group or the concept of labor in general. The Rijksmuseum has an extensive collection of drawings and prints that can tell us more about the history of Dutch art and culture. The study of these resources, alongside other historical documents, will help us to understand the context in which artists like Gestel worked.