Vrouw met paard 1891 - 1941

Editor: So this is Leo Gestel's "Vrouw met paard," or "Woman with Horse," a pen and ink drawing on paper that could have been made anytime between 1891 and 1941. It's strikingly simple. I'm really drawn to the lines, the bare minimum used to capture the essence of both the woman and the horse. What symbols do you see here? Curator: This piece resonates deeply with archetypal imagery. The woman and the horse... Do you notice how their eyes align almost on the same horizontal axis? There is a connection made with their eyes as mirroring each other. It presents the horse as the woman’s double, almost like her *anima*. The horse has traditionally symbolized primal energies, instinct, and freedom, but is often bound and constrained for domestic use; how does Gestel play with the ideas of raw, tamed, feminine, and animal? Editor: That’s a cool perspective. I was seeing the woman as kind of a goddess figure, standing next to her familiar. It hadn't occurred to me to consider them the same, though. Curator: Consider how line work and Art Nouveau sought to capture unseen connections. What invisible power binds the familiar? Is it love, mutual respect, or domestication and ownership? What emotions arise as you consider those potential invisible ties? Editor: That reframes everything for me. I hadn't thought of a power dynamic or social ties that extend into even art. The simplicity makes me think that there is a more simple and basic set of feelings going on in the work. Curator: Gestel reduces the images down to just their forms and inner psyches; both the woman and the horse confront the viewer directly. It may not be simplistic after all; Gestel might be trying to draw something essential out of these images. Editor: I never would have arrived at those interpretations by myself, but this makes the artwork a lot richer and more thought-provoking for me. Thank you. Curator: And you made me consider domestication through a fresh perspective. Thanks.