Karikatuur van Leo Gestel op zijn ziekbed 1911 - 1941

This is Leo Gestel's caricature of himself on his sickbed. There is no date for the drawing. It's just light pencil on paper, all flowing lines, as if he made it quickly. I wonder, lying there, what was he thinking? It's not exactly a realistic portrait; it's got this almost mask-like quality, you know? Like, here I am, sick in bed, but I'm still seeing the humor in it all. The upper face is more detailed, as if he were playing with reality and the drawing process, while the one below is rougher. That toothy smile makes me think about expressionism, where you exaggerate stuff to get at some deeper truth. The lines are a little shaky, which can be a reflection of his state of mind. Drawing, just like painting, is this ongoing conversation between the artist and the medium, a way of making sense of things when everything feels uncertain.