Aalscholver op een nest 1934 - 1936

Leo Gestel made this drawing of a cormorant on a nest with pen and ink, a stark and powerful choice of medium to depict this watchful bird. Just think of him, bent over the paper, the scratch of the pen, the smell of the ink. I imagine the artist was fascinated by the texture of the feathers, which he has rendered with so much detail, creating a dense network of lines, like a kind of topographic map of the bird's surface. It’s amazing how the repetition of tiny marks creates a sense of volume and form. The nest, a chaotic jumble of twigs, contrasts with the smooth, streamlined shape of the bird. Gestel has this incredible sense of detail and yet the composition is so simple, so direct. There's a rawness to it that reminds me of the German Expressionists, and their interest in capturing the raw essence of nature. You see echoes of that same impulse here, a desire to connect with the animal world on its own terms.