Studieblad met acht paarden by Leo Gestel

Studieblad met acht paarden

1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel's Profile Picture

Leo Gestel

1881 - 1941

Location

Rijksmuseum
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Artwork details

Medium
drawing, paper, ink, pencil
Dimensions
height 217 mm, width 277 mm
Location
Rijksmuseum
Copyright
Rijks Museum: Open Domain

Tags

#drawing#animal#pen illustration#landscape#figuration#paper#ink#pencil#horse#sketchbook drawing

About this artwork

This is Leo Gestel’s ‘Studieblad met acht paarden’ made with pen and ink on paper. What strikes me is the simplicity of the line work, almost like a child's drawing, but with a sophistication in how the horses are arranged. It’s like Gestel is thinking through a problem, how to capture the essence of 'horse' with just a few lines. The leaping horse at the top, it's all energy, right? The way the line barely contains the form, it feels like movement itself. Then below, the others are more grounded, some grazing, one lying down, creating a kind of visual rhythm. There’s something very modern about this. It reminds me of Matisse’s line drawings, that same economy of means, trying to get at the core of something without getting bogged down in detail. Gestel's work, like all great art, is an invitation to look closer, to see the world with fresh eyes.

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