Arm met hand die stok vasthoudt 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this drawing, “Arm met hand die stok vasthoudt”, which translates to “Arm with hand holding stick”, sometime in his life. What strikes me is the immediacy. It’s like a note jotted down – a fleeting impression captured with just a few lines. You can almost see Gestel’s hand moving across the paper, feeling the weight and tension of the arm and hand. There’s a real sense of weight to the arm, even though it’s just a few lines. I’m drawn to the way he’s rendered the hand gripping the stick. It’s not about perfect anatomy, but about capturing the essence of the gesture. It reminds me of Cezanne, who was also interested in breaking down form into its essential elements. It’s not polished, it’s raw and direct. It's the kind of drawing that reminds me that art is as much about the process as it is about the final product.