Zonder titel (roos) 1935 - 1936

Editor: So, this drawing, “Zonder titel (roos)”, which translates to “Untitled (rose)”, was done by Leo Gestel between 1935 and 1936. It’s pen and ink on paper, and currently residing here at the Rijksmuseum. There's a compelling tension between the delicate subject matter and the stark, almost aggressive lines of the drawing. It almost feels like a rose trying to push through a barbed-wire fence! What do you see in this piece? Curator: That's a potent image, the rose and barbed wire! For me, it whispers of Modernism's embrace of both beauty and brutality, all swirling together in this little ink drawing. Look how Gestel doesn't try to pretty things up. The ink scratches and jabs. The lines aren't graceful, flowing curves. They're jagged and urgent. Editor: So, the roughness is intentional? I initially thought perhaps he was just quick to capture the moment! Curator: Perhaps both! I wonder if, given the dates, Gestel might be responding to the growing unease in Europe at the time? Do you see how the geometric, almost cubist-like, style lends a sense of fragmentation to the rose? Like something lovely being broken apart. Editor: That’s a really interesting point! I hadn’t considered the historical context so deeply. So it's not just a pretty flower but a reflection of a tumultuous era. Curator: Absolutely! And isn't that the power of art? To hold a mirror to both the artist's soul and the world around them. Gestel transforms something delicate, a rose, into something raw, energetic, almost a little frightening. Editor: Wow, I will never look at another flower drawing in the same way again! Thanks for sharing this with me. Curator: My pleasure! Sometimes the most beauty lies within the thorns, wouldn't you agree?