Studier af forskellige fuglearter 1864 - 1941

This is a page of bird studies by Niels Larsen Stevns, most likely from a sketchbook, and look at that page tone! The linear quality of the drawing speaks to me of a process, a searching for form. The artist uses a limited palette, focusing on line rather than shading, to convey the essence of each bird. There's a kind of vulnerability to these works, like the artist is thinking out loud, but with a pencil. I am drawn to the head of one of the birds on the bottom left, which has a certain aggressive quality. It's rendered with sharp lines and a kind of intensity. The contrast between this more defined image and the softer, more tentative sketches around it creates a dynamic tension. It puts me in mind of work by Picasso, maybe because of the way the artist approaches the subject with a playful, experimental spirit. Art isn't about arriving at a fixed representation, it's about the process of exploring and discovering.