Twee kussende stellen 1891 - 1941

This drawing, "Twee kussende stellen" by Leo Gestel, gives us a glimpse into the artist's process, a dance between intention and improvisation. The smudgy graphite has this incredible range, from barely-there whispers to almost velvety dark marks. It's like Gestel is thinking through the image, right there on the paper. Look at the lines that form the figures. They're so tentative, so searching, yet they manage to convey intimacy. You can almost feel the pressure of the pencil as it moves across the page, hesitating, doubling back, finding its way. The beauty here is not in perfection, but in the honesty of the search. There’s this wonderful ambiguity about what we’re seeing, the bodies dissolve into each other, and the whole thing feels tender. It reminds me of some of Willem de Kooning’s drawings, that same willingness to let the hand lead the way, to embrace the unexpected. Ultimately, it shows that art is about asking questions, not providing answers.