Twee naakte vrouwen en drie vissen 1891 - 1941

Editor: Right, so this is "Twee naakte vrouwen en drie vissen" by Leo Gestel, created sometime between 1891 and 1941. It's a pencil drawing. I'm immediately struck by how fluid and almost dreamlike it is, but the figures are so intertwined it is difficult to find focus. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: It’s fascinating how Gestel uses the fish, traditionally a symbol of fertility and abundance, alongside these nude figures. It pulls on so many older pictorial traditions that have shaped the culture’s collective unconscious, but it feels intentionally chaotic. Do you think he's aiming for harmony or something else? Editor: Something else, I think. The linework is so frenetic, it's as if the figures are struggling within the composition. Maybe a questioning of traditional themes rather than a celebration of them? Curator: Precisely. Consider the gaze: where does it lead us? There is an uneasiness in their placement within the water; they are not quite serene, their gestures almost frantic as you mentioned. This disruption, these anxieties are what Gestel taps into, challenging us to reconsider the comfortable symbolism of the past. Editor: It makes me see how loaded even seemingly simple images can be. Gestel’s work makes me look at classic images more critically. Curator: That critical eye is key. These enduring images are anything but fixed; their meanings shift and shimmer through history and the cultural contexts that we associate with them. This one particularly asks us to dive deep into what they are all about, which has been my pleasure to explore together.