Leo Gestel
Encyclopedia
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
, expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
and postimpressionism. He was among Piet Mondrian
Piet Mondrian
Pieter Cornelis "Piet" Mondriaan, after 1906 Mondrian , was a Dutch painter.He was an important contributor to the De Stijl art movement and group, which was founded by Theo van Doesburg. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism...
the leading artist of Dutch modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
and Gestel first introduced this current to the Nederlands.
Life
The first drawing lessons were given to Gestel by his father. Moreover his uncle, an artist who painted with Vincent van GoghVincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
together, taught him in art.
Due to financial problems Gestel created advertisements (e.g. for Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
) an illustrated books.
Whilst travelling to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
he came in touch with the upcoming avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
movement.
As early as the year 1913 Herwarth Walden
Herwarth Walden
Herwarth Walden was a German Expressionist artist and art expert in many disciplines...
offered him to exhibit a few distinguished works of art at the "Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon" in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Generally Gestel spent the summer in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
, where he joined the Bergen School.
In 1929 the majority of his works were burned when a fire destroyed his studio.
Thereupon he moved to Blaricum
Blaricum
Blaricum is a municipality and village in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.It is known for its many monumental farm buildings, local cafes and restaurants, nature, several annual community events and extensive up-market residential areas...
.
Today Gestel is considered with Piet Mondrian as the most influential protagonist of Dutch modernism, despite his "modest" talent.
Public collections
- Drents MuseumDrents MuseumThe Drents Museum is a historical museum located in Assen, Netherlands. It was founded by the King's Commissioner of Drenthe on November 28, 1854 as the Provincial Museum of Drents Antiquities.-Collection:...
, AssenAssenAssen is a municipality and a city in the north eastern Netherlands, capital of the province of Drenthe. It received city rights in 1809. Assen's main claim to fame is the TT Circuit Assen the motorcycle racing circuit, where on the last Saturday in June the Dutch TT is run... - De Hallen, HaarlemHaarlemHaarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
- Frans Hals MuseumFrans Hals MuseumThe Frans Hals Museum is a hofje and municipal museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. The museum was founded in 1862 in the newly renovated former cloister located in the back of the Haarlem city hall known as the Prinsenhof...
, Haarlem - Singer Laren, Laren
- Kröller-Müller museumKröller-Müller MuseumThe Kröller-Müller Museum is an art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands.-Museum:...
, Otterlo - Museum van Bommel van Dam, VenloVenloVenlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...
- Stedelijk Museum AlkmaarStedelijk Museum AlkmaarStedelijk Museum Alkmaar is a city museum located in the center of Alkmaar on the Canadaplein . The museum is devoted to presenting and preserving the cultural history of Alkmaar and the surrounding region.-History:...
, AlkmaarAlkmaarAlkmaar is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Noord Holland. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination.-History:...