Vrouwenhoofd 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this drawing, Vrouwenhoofd, using pen and ink on paper, but we don't know exactly when. Look closely and you’ll see a head rendered with a flurry of hatched lines. The density of the marks give the form weight, but the lines themselves are light, almost playful. See how Gestel uses the barest minimum of marks to evoke the planes of the face, and then contrasts this with the wild scribbles suggesting a mass of hair? It reminds me that drawing is all about decisions, a constant process of choosing what to emphasize and what to leave out. And then there's that bold, truncated neck. I like how it becomes almost abstract, morphing into a geometric shape that echoes the angular planes of her face. Gestel's mark-making reminds me of Picasso, but with a Dutch sensibility. It’s like they're both figuring out the very essence of form, line by line. Art is always this conversation through time, seeing what others have done and responding in our own way. I like that.