Zelfportret 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this self-portrait in pencil, and it’s all about the process of looking, and then re-looking, isn't it? The face is there in front of us, but the lines don't quite meet up, there’s an eye, simply drawn with a circle, that seems to stare right through you. Notice how the pencil marks aren’t blended or softened, everything is out in the open. It’s all about directness. The artist is laying himself bare. There is no fixed meaning here, no attempt to show us his best side. Look at the strong diagonal strokes indicating his collar, and compare those to the soft shading of the eyebrow, or the wandering line of his jaw. It’s like he is saying, a portrait isn't about perfect representation, it’s about capturing something of the self, which is changing all the time. I can see echoes of Picasso in this, a similar reduction of form, and embrace of the sketch.