Zonder titel (paard) 1925 - 1940

Leo Gestel made this untitled drawing of a horse with pen and India ink on paper. There’s something so immediate and raw about a work like this, isn't there? You can feel the artist working through it, searching for the form. The stark contrast between black and white gives it a real punch. The ink is laid down in confident strokes, almost like he's carving the horse out of the blank paper. Look at how the weight of the lines varies, thick and decisive in some places, thin and scratchy in others. Notice around the horse's legs, how the ground seems to dissolve, becoming part of the animal itself. It's a fantastic example of how a limited palette can be so expressive. Gestel seems to be in conversation with artists like Franz Marc, who also loved to paint animals with a kind of spiritual intensity. It’s like they’re both trying to capture the essence of the animal, rather than just its appearance. With pieces like this, art becomes less about showing something and more about feeling something.