Skitse af Børglum kloster. Forarbejde til Vendelboer på plyndringstogt mod Børglum kloster" 1864 - 1941

This small pencil sketch, "Skitse af Børglum kloster," was created by Niels Larsen Stevns as preparation for a larger history painting. What strikes me is the directness and immediacy of the marks. You can see the artist thinking through the composition, line by line. The lines are tentative and searching, not quite sure of themselves. Look at the way the verticals on the left lean ever so slightly. There's a real sensitivity to the weight of the lines, how they accumulate and vary in pressure. Notice the difference in mark making between the architectural structure on the left and the loose, gestural scribble to the right, with the word "Børglum." It is as if the artist is allowing himself to think and explore different modes of representation all at once. For me, Stevns' sketch has echoes of Delacroix's sketches – both capture a sense of fleeting observation, where the process of looking and drawing becomes a way of knowing. Art is always a conversation, isn't it?