Man houdt twee paarden in bedwang 1891 - 1941

Curator: Welcome. We’re looking at a drawing by Leo Gestel entitled “Man houdt twee paarden in bedwang,” which roughly translates to "Man restraining two horses." The Rijksmuseum places the artwork’s creation somewhere between 1891 and 1941. It's rendered in pencil. Editor: My first thought? It’s all energy. Look at how Gestel captures the muscular tension, that raw, almost chaotic, vitality…I feel like I’m stepping into a dreamscape where myths are forged. It reminds me a bit of those heroic sculptures from antiquity. Curator: Indeed. The heroic is present, and perhaps that speaks to the era in which Gestel was working. Think of the turn of the century, the rise of modernism, and this inherent need to recapture the "primitive" energy. A return to fundamental stories about humanity’s relationship with nature, especially potent amidst industrial expansion. Gestel seems to position man as both a master and a participant in a primal drama. Editor: Absolutely! It makes me think about power and control – or the illusion of it. The horses seem barely contained, ready to break free at any moment. There's something raw and untamed there that society just couldn’t harness… And those looping lines? Almost give me the sense of the man tethered to the horses as well. Curator: Yes! This ambiguity invites questions about power dynamics within society. Were social changes, labor movements, industrial challenges, just like holding a couple of spirited horses? Were society's reins actually so flimsy? Editor: And those simple pencil strokes! Such powerful immediacy. Gestel isn’t trying to hide the artifice, either; the drawing seems more about capturing that essential spark of life than photo-realistic representation. What a potent political idea that is: revealing and highlighting energy and dynamism and possibility! Curator: In this Gestel embodies early twentieth-century debates about humanity's future and control, reflecting tensions and ideas of that turbulent time. Editor: Gestel captures the raw struggle to restrain what truly wants to run wild. The picture makes me want to get to it – feel that pulse, throw myself into the chaos and creativity that lives at the boundary!