Studier af vaskebjørn 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made this series of raccoon studies using pencil on paper. I like to think of this sketchbook as Stevns' attempt to capture the elusive spirit of these creatures. His quick, light lines really evoke their fleeting movements. It's like he's trying to catch the raccoons in the act, you know? You can almost feel him watching them closely, trying to understand their forms, their gestures, their essence. And maybe he’s thinking about other artists who have sketched animals, like Dürer, or even the cave painters at Lascaux! When an artist picks up a pencil, they're participating in a conversation that spans millennia. We’re all just trying to figure things out, one line at a time, hoping to get something right. I know the feeling!