Grazend paard 1891 - 1941

Curator: Welcome. We’re standing before “Grazing Horse,” a pencil drawing by Leo Gestel, made sometime between 1891 and 1941. It’s currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first impression is one of transience. It’s so fleeting, almost like a half-remembered dream of a horse in a field. The simplicity is quite striking. Curator: Indeed. The power lies in the economy of line. Notice how Gestel captures the essence of the animal with just a few carefully placed strokes. The hatching suggests form without fully defining it. Semiotically, the absence is as important as the presence here. Editor: It also speaks volumes about the artist’s process. The choice of pencil, the visible sketch lines—these decisions are all fundamental to how we perceive the artwork. It’s not about illusion, but about honest mark-making and the immediate connection between artist and material. Did he draw this outside, I wonder? The tearing and damage along the paper's edge make it seem so delicate. Curator: Precisely. There’s a deliberate ambiguity in the composition. We can almost feel the tension between representation and abstraction, oscillating within the picture plane. Editor: Yes, but beyond its formal qualities, doesn’t it also evoke a certain…rural melancholy? I am very sensitive to the use of line that so effectively communicates light in this piece. And look at the very sparse strokes, very simple and few in numbers, yet they deliver. I love it! This artwork transcends skill and finds real art with utter ease. Curator: You're right; beyond the lines themselves is indeed a communication of place, being, even, in the work. It may not reach the sublime but evokes the simple pleasures found with work on a landscape. A direct communication if you will. Editor: Considering that he lived during an intensely industrialized period, seeing Gestel find value in representing a humble animal and the landscape surrounding is quite a statement. Curator: A worthy statement that Gestel executes exceptionally well in "Grazing Horse". Editor: Indeed, the drawing whispers about a simpler way of life, and, while it may seem fragile, there’s a quiet strength in that message too. I'm changed now. Curator: An incisive remark, and fitting reflection for our listeners I would expect.