Nils Klim ser en potuansk misdæder bliver ført afsted af tre vægtere 1786

Curator: This is J.F. Clemens' 1786 drawing, "Nils Klim ser en potuansk misdæder bliver ført afsted af tre vægtere," currently held at the SMK in Copenhagen. Clemens primarily worked in pencil to realize this narrative scene. Editor: My initial reaction? The textures are amazing! Look at the rendering of bark and leaves—a clear attention to process, to the nitty-gritty materiality of things. It’s like a bizarre stage play captured with incredibly fine control of the pencil. Curator: The fantasy art style certainly contributes to that feeling of a fantastical theater! Based on Ludvig Holberg’s novel, it depicts a scene from Nils Klim's journey to the underworld where, clearly, the judicial system functions quite differently than ours. Editor: Underworld or not, there's still a system, isn't there? Look at those guards— the material trappings of authority, even in pencil strokes, remind us about the power dynamics being depicted here. Curator: Power, yes, but filtered through a Romantic sensibility. See how Klim is slightly separate, almost an observer in his own adventure. It highlights the interior, subjective experience that was so valued then. The story becomes almost like a metaphor, one that invites speculation. What do we convict based on in our societies? And by what measures do we measure innocence or guilt? Editor: What strikes me more is the raw physical labor it took to render this scene with such detail. The pressure, the constant sharpening… that labor informs the image's presence here. These kinds of drawings are less frequently presented than paintings of the era. This is thanks in no small part to their sensitivity to conservation challenges due to graphite degradation when it interacts with oils and dirt from handling. Curator: It truly is remarkable. It reminds me of a forgotten dream; I can almost feel the otherworldly air. There's an unsettling quiet that hangs in the space between Nils and his captors, so unlike our world of endless noise. Editor: For me, it evokes an attention to what art *is*: fundamentally, a process and engagement with readily accessible, widely circulated, humble materials. What appears high art and otherworldly can also stem from accessible material means. I appreciate the ability it has to reveal this duality.