Høst I. To nøgne mænd, der samler kornneg 1936 - 1937

Niels Larsen Stevns created this sculpture, 'Høst I. To nøgne mænd, der samler kornneg', which translates to 'Harvest I. Two nude men gathering sheaves of corn'. The artwork presents a vision of labor and the human form. It prompts questions about how representations of the body intersect with notions of work, masculinity, and the natural world. The choice to depict the figures nude removes markers of social class and suggests a return to an idealized, perhaps even primal, state of humanity. How does Stevns, working in a time of changing social norms, use the nude male form to convey ideas about labor and the relationship between humans and the environment? What does it mean to strip away the clothing and expose the bodies of these workers, connecting them more directly to the land they till? The sculpture may reflect a longing for simpler times, or perhaps a commentary on the universal nature of work.