Vredesduif 1934 - 1936

This sketch of a dove with olive branch was made by Leo Gestel in 1918. It looks like it was made quickly, with ink, and straight from the heart. I imagine him working fast, maybe even outside in the cold. He might have been thinking about peace. The First World War was just ending. What was he hoping for when he made it? What did peace look like for him? I bet he was tired. Gestel lays down each line with confidence, but they're still loose. There's something raw and immediate. The bird and the sprig of leaves, the mark making, are simple, but not simplistic. It reminds me of Picasso’s dove of peace and, generally, the simple, but poignant marks you find in the work of Henri Matisse. All these artists are in dialogue with one another; maybe that's what art is. Gestel wasn’t trying to say one thing, but rather, allowing possibilities. And that's how pictures keep on going, meaning different things to different people over time.