Studieblad met zeven schetsjes van gebukte aardappelrooiers 1925 - 1927

This study of potato harvesters was made by Leo Gestel on paper using black chalk. I love the economy of line here. The artist has captured the back-breaking labor of harvesting with just a few strokes, a real sense of the body bending and reaching. It’s like he's trying to catch something fleeting, an essence of the workers. Check out the figure at the bottom right. See how the chalk is applied with varying pressure, creating darker and lighter areas that suggest form and shadow? The marks aren't precious; they're direct and honest. Gestel knew Jan Toorop, and I can see something of Toorop’s interest in capturing the lives of ordinary people in this piece. It’s a reminder that art is always in conversation, artists building on each other's ideas, trying to figure things out, one sketch at a time.