Dansend vrouwelijk naakt 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this drawing of a dancing female nude with chalk and charcoal. I love that you can really see his process. It's like he's thinking out loud with the charcoal, trying to capture the movement of the figure. The texture of the paper really comes through, doesn't it? The charcoal is kind of scratchy and uneven, but that gives it a real energy. And the way he's used white chalk to highlight the body, it's almost like she's glowing. There's a looseness that reminds me of Matisse but without that flattening out of space, it's a lovely balance. Look at her legs, how they're kind of wobbly and unsure. It's like he's captured a moment of vulnerability, a sense of the dancer searching for her balance. It reminds me that art isn't about perfection, it's about the process of trying to capture something real and human.