Svane 1911

Here is the audio guide script about the artwork provided: J.A. Jerichau sketched this swan sometime around 1911, using what looks like a soft graphite pencil on paper. It’s all tentative lines and erasure marks, like the swan itself is emerging from the mist. I can imagine Jerichau in front of the swan, maybe at a park, quickly trying to capture its essence. Notice how the lines around the head are confident, defining its form, but then fade out and become more scribbled around the body. There’s a real sense of movement, a feeling that the swan might shift at any moment. I love the directness of the medium – just pencil on paper – which allows for immediacy and vulnerability. This sketch reminds me of other artists, like Degas, who used drawing to explore movement and form. It makes me think about how artists are constantly in dialogue, responding to one another across time. Like a dance. Each one inspires the next.