Studie af soldat liggende med ansigtet mod jorden 1923 - 1924

This drawing of a soldier face down in the dirt, was made by Niels Larsen Stevns, and it seems like he was just trying to understand how to make a body appear on paper. The marks are hesitant, searching for a way to capture the weight and form of the soldier. The lines are light, almost tentative, like Stevns is feeling his way through the subject. Look at the way the lines repeat and overlap, especially around the head and back, creating a sense of volume and depth. It reminds me a little of Käthe Kollwitz's drawings of grief and despair. Both artists share a raw, emotional honesty in their work, using simple materials to convey powerful feelings about the human condition. It's not about perfection or accuracy, but about capturing the essence of a moment. You get the sense that for both artists, drawing is a way of processing and understanding the world around them.