Studier af bygninger. Notater 1930 - 1936

Editor: We're looking at "Studier af bygninger. Notater," or "Studies of Buildings. Notes," a drawing in pen and pencil by Niels Larsen Stevns, dating from between 1930 and 1936. It's…sketchy, obviously! And yet, there’s something quite captivating in its simplicity. What do you see in this piece, that I might be missing? Curator: It feels like a whispered secret, doesn’t it? Not a grand statement, but a quiet observation. I love the immediacy of it; like the artist just pulled out a notebook and captured a fleeting moment, almost like a visual diary entry, you know. And the little handwritten notes scattered around – "red tiles, fairly green," – it makes the experience more intimate. It reminds us that even buildings have their colours shift with the light. How interesting is that? It is such a modernist moment! Editor: It's true; it does feel like we are looking at his personal notebook. It is curious to notice, how there is the name of colors as if he was deciding what tone to choose. Almost as a painterly act, I see. Curator: Precisely. It's not just about recording the structure; it is also about feeling and conveying the experience. Stevns’ landscape studies often captured the essence of Danish scenery. This work, it seems like Stevns has found the sublime even in everyday architecture. Have you looked at how this ordinary sight is composed? The perspective from the roofs' corner? I see something that has been done later on, on a street scene in London... Editor: Now that you point it out, that low angle and looking at the roofs in the foreground makes it less about the objective buildings, and more of how the body relates with a building space. Something interesting that has something intimate, don’t you agree? Thanks for pointing that out, I will have that in mind. Curator: I enjoyed noticing it with you, truly! It’s these layers of intent and observations that elevate simple sketches into something so compelling.