Zonder titel Vignet voor biografie van Gestel door Van der Pluym, gezicht op Woerden met daarboven een hand die reikt naar een gevleugeld palet 1935 - 1936

This drawing, made by Leo Gestel, is a vignette for a biography by Van der Pluym. It shows a view of Woerden, made with ink on paper. The image juxtaposes the earthly and the artistic. The detailed rendering of the town at the bottom contrasts sharply with the cloudscape above, rendered with loose hatching. A hand reaches upwards towards a winged palette. The palette itself is given life, almost an angelic form. The artist is claiming a kind of creative grace. Gestel would have used a dip pen for this level of detail, and cross-hatching to build up tonal variation. The effect is that of an etching, which is an inherently reproducible medium. This hints at the social context that frames the artist’s labor – it can be shared widely. Ultimately, this drawing invites us to consider how artistic vision can transform the mundane into something transcendent.