head, torso, arms, and thighs of nude woman with red hair in an updo, wearing a white earring and black stockings with white garters; woman seen from PL side with hands resting on the top of her head and PR leg forward; white frame

Standing Nude with Stockings, 1911

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Nicknamed Leonardo by his friends in art school, Leo Gestel is well known for his accomplished drawings. He was one of the leading avant-garde artists in the Netherlands in the early 20th century, alongside Piet Mondrian. His exhibition of female nudes at the 1911 international exhibition of the Moderne Kunstkring (Modern Art Circle) at the Stedelijk Museum scandalized Amsterdam and were ultimately removed from the show. This monumental drawing, Standing Nude with Stockings, might have been among the works censored in this exhibition. The model can be identified as An Overtoom, Gestel’s mistress and muse, whom he met in 1911, and later married. Gestel demonstrates his tremendous skill as a draftsman, modeling the curves of the female body and capturing the smooth flesh of the young model with the barest means—white and light gray pastel on buff paper.

Details
Title
Standing Nude with Stockings
Artist Life
1881–1941
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2019.30.1
Provenance
[Kunsthandel Ivo Bouwaman, The Hague, until 1974; sold March 15, to a private collector]; Private collection, the Netherlands (1974–2012; sale, Christie’s, Amsterdam, June 5, 2012, no. 143, estimate 30,000-50,000 Euro, BI); Private collection (2012–17; sale, Sotheby’s, New York, June 8, 2017, no. 37, for $30,000; to Mosler); [Mireille Mosler Ltd., New York, 2017–2019; sold to Mia]
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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head, torso, arms, and thighs of nude woman with red hair in an updo, wearing a white earring and black stockings with white garters; woman seen from PL side with hands resting on the top of her head and PR leg forward; white frame