Plantestudie 1906 - 1910

Editor: So, here we have "Plantestudie" by Niels Larsen Stevns, created sometime between 1906 and 1910. It looks like a drawing using watercolor and colored pencil on paper, from the artist's sketchbook. There's something so immediate about seeing this glimpse into his artistic process...it feels really intimate. What strikes you most about it? Curator: It's precisely that sense of immediacy that grabs me, too. It feels like stepping right into Stevns's headspace, doesn't it? This isn’t some grand, finished statement. This is him, thinking aloud with line and colour. The plant form is observed with a real sensitivity but he’s not aiming for botanical accuracy. Do you notice the way he uses the watercolour almost as a wash, letting it bleed and blend? It's like he is capturing the essence of the plant, rather than a photographic representation. Editor: Yes, and the line work over the watercolour makes it feel almost architectural, structuring the organic form. Was this typical of his practice? Curator: That's a very astute observation. Stevns was very interested in the relationship between organic forms and the structural principles found in architecture and design. He’s playing with that balance here, a little push and pull between free-flowing impression and grounded form. These studies allowed the artist to explore what interested him without the pressures of a patron looming over him, and those more intimate creative explorations ended up permeating his commissioned works later in his career. Doesn’t it just feel like catching him at play? Editor: It really does. Seeing this sketch makes me appreciate how much thought goes into the finished artworks. I will now carry with me an appreciation for his exploration of form as groundwork for larger commissions. Curator: Absolutely. For me it sparks the wonder of understanding that all creativity arises out of the exploration of an intimate sketchbook like this one.