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

Leo Gestel made this Ex libris voor J. Slagter, an expressive, almost surrealist design, with pencil on paper. The freedom of the marks, the way the swan's body almost seems to morph into the figure's neck, it's like Gestel is letting his subconscious guide the pencil. There's a raw, unfinished quality to the piece, and the visible pencil lines add to this sense of immediacy and intimacy with the artist's process. The smudges and imperfections give it a kind of vulnerability; it's not about perfection but about the act of creation itself. I'm particularly drawn to the contrast between the sharp lines of the face and the more fluid lines of the swan, it really creates this dynamic tension. Gestel was part of a movement that embraced experimentation and pushed against traditional artistic conventions, and you can see him doing this in other portrait work that he made around the same time. It's like he's saying, 'Art isn't about replicating reality; it's about exploring new ways of seeing and feeling.'