Ex libris voor J. Slagter (ontwerp) c. 1935 - 1940

This is Leo Gestel's "Ex libris voor J. Slagter (ontwerp)," an undated graphite on paper work. The immediacy of the graphite sketching is so present; you can sense Gestel thinking through the image, making decisions, and then altering them. The surface of the paper is thin, and the lines are tentative but sure. Look how the faces are defined by simple, elegant strokes. There is no shading, only line, which makes the whole design feel so graphic and modern. The texture of the paper is visible, adding a subtle, tactile quality to the piece. And there, at the base of the image, Gestel pencils the name 'J. Slagter', mirroring the characters above and creating a clever symmetry. Gestel's cubist portraits from around the same time have a similar interest in representing a subject from multiple viewpoints in one image. This piece makes me think a little of Picasso and Braque, that same impulse to fragment and reassemble. But of course, Gestel brings his own sensibility to it. Art is just one big conversation, right? Always borrowing and building on what came before.