Man met pet en sigaar 1921

This is Leo Gestel’s drawing of a man with a cap and cigar, created with what looks like charcoal on paper. Gestel's marks are direct and raw, like he’s wrestling with the image itself, and isn’t that what drawing is all about? The texture is built up with smudges and purposeful lines. You can see the ghost of erasures and adjustments, the push and pull of observation and correction. Look at the way he renders the hat, with these soft, smudged shadows, then moves down to the craggy landscape of the face, all sharp angles and deep-set lines. The whole thing’s a study in contrasts! Check out the area around the mouth, the way the charcoal gathers and darkens, suggesting the weight of the cigar and the pursed lips. It's as though Gestel is trying to capture not just the man's appearance, but also something of his inner life, his thoughts, his habits. His work reminds me a bit of Käthe Kollwitz, with her unflinching portrayals of human experience. It’s like art is an ongoing conversation, where meaning is always shifting.