Vogel 1934 - 1936

Leo Gestel drew this 'Vogel,' or bird, with pen and ink, and the drawing is now at the Rijksmuseum. I wonder what it was like to be Gestel, just him, the pen, the ink, and the page. Did he watch the bird for a long time? Did he have a particular feeling he wanted to express? It's interesting how the quick strokes of ink make up the bird’s form, the feathers almost like scribbles, but still capturing the essence of this creature perched there, alert and still. There’s something very immediate and alive in this work. The quick marks, capturing the way a bird moves and the light bounces off its feathers, reminds me of the Fauvist painters like Matisse, but the tonal value is darker, moodier. You see how a single stroke behind the bird becomes a bush? I love that economy and shorthand. Gestel is in conversation with other painters about how much information is enough to make the feeling come alive.