Kompositionsudkast til Blichers novelle "Vinhandleren og Herremanden", p. 201 - Kaj Lykke, Jens Bangs hustru og plejedatter færges over Limfjorden, kvadreret med notater 1932 - 1935

Curator: This intriguing drawing by Niels Larsen Stevns, created sometime between 1932 and 1935, serves as a compositional sketch. Its full title is quite descriptive: "Kompositionsudkast til Blichers novelle "Vinhandleren og Herremanden", p. 201 - Kaj Lykke, Jens Bangs hustru og plejedatter færges over Limfjorden, kvadreret med notater." Editor: Wow, that title's a journey in itself! But even without it, I'm immediately struck by this almost ghostly little boat drifting across what looks like a grid. It gives a really dreamlike quality, like a memory surfacing. Curator: Precisely. What we see here is Larsen Stevns grappling with a scene from Blicher’s short story. The gridded paper is key. It suggests a methodical approach to visualizing narrative, a concern with translating text into image through careful planning. Note the pencil work. Editor: It's interesting how the grid grounds it, like holding onto reality, while the scene itself feels so fleeting. They're being ferried, not quite here, not quite there. I wonder what those little notes on the sides mean? Is he writing notes or lyrics? I love that feeling when the real world mixes up with fantasy. Curator: The annotations and page numbers do, I think, reveal something about artistic labor – the drafting, editing, and ultimately the intellectual processes inherent in converting literature to a visual language. It exposes the artifice behind what might otherwise appear to be a natural depiction. It allows us a glimpse into the creative process itself. Editor: Exactly. It reminds us that art isn’t some pure, divine spark but work, thoughtful and grounded even when depicting these ethereal journeys. So often in a museum you don't see the process, you only see the final outcome. Curator: A pertinent observation. In its bareness, we encounter a certain truthfulness concerning image-making and art as something borne of hard labor. Editor: Totally. And in the sketchiness there’s also freedom—he’s not precious, it feels experimental. More process, less grand vision and statement. Curator: I think both qualities exist, the meticulous planning alongside the exploratory execution, captured fleetingly in pencil on paper, offering, even today, glimpses of artistic labor. Editor: Right? Like eavesdropping on a genius doing what he loves to do, working it all out as he goes. That makes it human. Curator: A point well made!