Studie af figur i profil, ornamentik og gesimsprofil 1919

Niels Larsen Stevns made this sketch of a figure and some architectural details with pencil on paper. It’s like looking at a page torn from an architect's notebook. The quick, scribbled lines give this piece an exploratory feel. You can almost see the artist circling the subject, searching for the right form. Look at the way he renders the folds of the figure’s garment with layers of hatching. The density of the lines gives the form weight, while the looser strokes suggest shadow and depth. The architectural elements below, are they columns? Friezes? These simple shapes contrast with the curves of the figure. It's all so tentative, like a visual brainstorming session, and reminds me of the kind of drawings Guston made, searching for a new language. These are not fixed ideas, but rather provisional gestures, an embrace of ambiguity, a reminder that art is an ongoing process.