Udkast til "Kristus helbreder en spedalsk" 1937 - 1938

This is a sketch for "Christ healing the Leper," made by Niels Larsen Stevns in the late 19th or early 20th century, using what looks like graphite or ink on graph paper. I love seeing the bones of a painting laid bare like this, you know? There's something really lovely about this glimpse into Stevns' process. The grid peeks through the scene, acting almost as a veil. See how he uses the lines to structure the composition, mapping out the figures and landscape with these economical marks? The strokes are so direct and unpretentious. It's like he's thinking aloud on paper. Look at the way he renders the figures with just a few lines, focusing on their posture and gesture to convey emotion. There's an echo of Millet in this piece, or perhaps even a touch of Daumier, in its raw and unvarnished depiction of humanity. Ultimately, it reminds me that art is as much about the journey as it is about the destination.