Naakte zittende vrouw met opgetrokken knieën (schets) before 1936

Leo Gestel made this sketch of a seated nude woman with ink on paper, it's now held at the Rijksmuseum. The bold, confident strokes that define the figure show an artist thinking through the form in real-time. Look at the way the dark ink pools and thins, creating depth and shadow with just a few marks. You can almost feel the give and take of the brush on the paper. There's a sense of immediacy, of capturing a fleeting moment. The darkest lines are around the figure, and then there are these kind of blank areas in the middle of the body, so there is a push-pull between the descriptive and the abstract. The influence of artists like Matisse comes to mind, but Gestel brings his own raw energy to the work. Art's all about this ongoing conversation, riffing on what came before while finding your own voice. It's a reminder that art isn't about answers, but about asking questions and exploring possibilities.