Drie boeren werken op het land 1891 - 1941

Leo Gestel made this drawing of three farmers working in a field with pencil on paper. It's the kind of sketch where you can really see the artist working through the composition. The lines are tentative, searching – it's all about the process. Look at how he renders the figures; each mark seems to capture the essence of movement, the bend of a back, the tug of a plough. The texture of the paper is visible through the sketch, giving it an airy, open quality. The composition feels almost Cubist, breaking down forms into their most basic shapes. It reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley's drawings, in their simplicity and directness. I love how Gestel embraces ambiguity here. There are no definitive answers, just suggestions, possibilities. Art, at its best, is an ongoing dialogue, a conversation across time and between artists.