Gezicht van een man en een vrouw 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel drew this image of a man and a woman with pen and ink. They’re set against a pale background. I wonder what Gestel was thinking about when he made this; the man and the woman are close, but separate. The texture of the ink creates the shading of the woman's hair, almost as if the shadows are curls. She seems to be looking hopefully forward, whilst the man behind her gazes into the distance. The overall impression is one of harmony and sadness. The work reminds me of Modigliani, who created a similarly reduced yet highly expressive figurative language. I feel like artists are constantly drawing on each other's energies, isn't it nice? Ultimately, this piece is about the conversations that take place between artists over time, each one inspiring the next. The painting embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations. It's like, what are they looking at? What are *we* looking at?