Landschap op Mallorca 1914

Leo Gestel made this 'Landschap op Mallorca' with some sort of pastel crayon and paper, though I don't know when. The pale blue and green pastel marks create a semi-Cubist landscape of Mallorca. The marks feel more like dusting than drawing, leaving the surface powdery and thin. In the bottom right corner, notice those slightly darker green blobs. They gather into a bush of some kind, the only place in the composition where Gestel lays down a darker tone. It has a double effect, the darker tone makes the bush feel nearer, and its formlessness makes the landscape beyond feel more distant. Gestel’s Mallorca is so much lighter and airier than Braque's or Picasso's Cubism. Maybe because he was Dutch? I think of Mondrian's early landscapes, a similar color palette, and the feeling that the light is always on. This quiet painting reminds me that art doesn't have to shout to be heard; sometimes, the softest voice carries the furthest.