Minneapolis Institute of Art

Portrait of Lucas van Hilst, nephew of the artist

Leo Gestel

Date

c. 1928

Medium

Graphite on paper

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Having studied in Amsterdam and Paris, Dutch painter Leo Gestel was interested in international avant-garde artistic movements. He delved into Divisionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and Expressionism. At times he dealt with major events, such as the displacement of refugees during World War I, but more often he depicted everyday life. This sweet portrait shows the artist's young nephew Lucas van Hilst. Gestel made it as a present for his sister-in-law, the boy's mother. Van Hilst was born in 1920; so Gestel probably drew this in the late 1920s. Some 50 years later, Lucas gave Mia its first work by Gestel, a powerful and moving poster of refugees leaving Belgium during World War I. Netherlands, Europe

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