Uidentificerede udkast (nytestamentelig scene?) 1937 - 1938

This sketch, possibly depicting a scene from the New Testament, was made by Niels Larsen Stevns using graphite on paper. It has that quality of something very quickly done, a kind of shorthand. You can see the pentimenti, the ghost traces of previous attempts to nail down the figures. What really gets me is the economy of means. It's like Stevns is saying, "Here's the gist, the essential gesture." The lines aren't precious; they're just there to get the idea across. Look at how he renders the folds of fabric or the suggestion of a face with just a few flicks of the pencil! It reminds me a little of late drawings by Goya, where the energy of the line is almost more important than what it describes. It's a beautiful example of how much information can be conveyed with so little. Art doesn’t always have to be about perfection; sometimes, it's the rough edges that give it life.