Leo Gestel - Jan Ponstijn, mandoline spelend

Leo Gestel (1881–1941) was a Dutch painter. His father Willem Gestel was also an artist. Leo Gestel experimented with cubism, expressionism, futurism and postimpressionism. Along with Piet Mondrian he was among the leading artists of Dutch modernism. Gestel was first instructed in art by his father, Willem Gestel, the director of an art school, and his uncle, Dimmen Gestel, who had painted with Vincent van Gogh.

His father was an architect. He trained at the Rijksnormaalschool voor Teekenonderwijzers in Amsterdam. After two years at that school, he got a job at the office of the architect C. van Arkel and then went to work for several furniture factories as a furniture designer. In Amsterdam, he was a drawing teacher at some schools. The Regionaal Archief in Alkmaar contains photographs taken by Ponstijn, among others. The work of Vincent van Gogh and Leo Gestel was admired by Ponstijn. Ponstijn lived and worked in Bergen NH from 1935 to 1970. His work is considered part of the Bergen School. He was a member of the KunstenaarsCentrumBergen (KCB), Arti et Amicitiae in Amsterdam and the Vereeniging Sint Lucas in Amsterdam.