Studieblad met twee vrouwen met kruiken op het hoofd, een man op een ezel en een vrouw die vogels loslaat bij een veulen 1891 - 1941

Editor: This is "Studieblad met twee vrouwen met kruiken op het hoofd, een man op een ezel en een vrouw die vogels loslaat bij een veulen," a pen and ink drawing by Leo Gestel, created sometime between 1891 and 1941. It feels like looking at a page from a fantastical sketchbook. All these different vignettes… what’s your read on this piece? Curator: Oh, this speaks of artistic wandering! It's like catching Gestel in a moment of pure, unbridled ideation. I’m immediately drawn to the way he juxtaposes the everyday with the almost mythical. Two women carrying water, a man on a donkey, and then – poof – a woman releasing birds to a foal! There's a delightful dance between observation and invention here. The seemingly random placement of motifs, some even upside down, gives the feeling of a dream. Do you find yourself drawn more to one of these scenarios in particular? Editor: I like the lower one; the woman freeing the birds feels really symbolic and optimistic. Is that a modernist trait to create that sort of personal symbolism? Curator: Precisely! Modernism embraced personal symbolism with gusto, seeing the artist as a kind of lone voyager, charting inner territories. In releasing those birds, is she releasing her own creative spirit, maybe? Perhaps setting free traditional constraints to frolic with a fresh new foal. We can but wonder, can't we? It makes you consider Gestel's state of mind, doesn't it? Editor: Definitely! I'm now seeing the drawing as much more than just a study. It feels like a window into Gestel’s imagination. Curator: Exactly. Art isn't always about grand pronouncements. Sometimes it’s in these smaller, intimate sketches that we find an artist’s truest voice. The uninhibitedness feels… liberating! Editor: I completely agree. Looking at it this way really opens it up. Curator: To truly understand the work you really need to imagine the artist working in his own space, time and emotions. Art offers that portal.