Landschap met een dorp op de achtergrond 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this landscape with a village in the background with charcoal on paper. It's all about marks, right? The smudgy, grainy texture comes from the charcoal, which isn't about perfection. It’s more like capturing a feeling, a fleeting moment. Look at the bottom left. You can almost see the pressure of his hand, the way he layered the charcoal to build up the darks. And then, bam!, those quick, light strokes suggesting the village in the background. It’s not about rendering every detail, but more about hinting at a place, a mood. I love that looseness; it invites you to fill in the blanks. Gestel reminds me of Emil Nolde, who was also all about expressive mark-making and raw emotion. It’s like they’re saying, “Hey, art doesn’t have to be polished. It can be messy, imperfect, and still totally true.”