Skitser af løver. Notat 1900 - 1905

Niels Larsen Stevns made these sketches of lions on paper at an unknown date. The sketches embody a set of ideas about representing nature in art. Larsen Stevns came from a generation of artists in Denmark who struggled to negotiate their relationship to the dominant academic style. In the late 19th century, academic naturalism in Europe was increasingly seen as artificial and formulaic. Many artists, often influenced by the Barbizon school in France, turned to direct observation of nature. The sparse lines in this work, combined with the glimpses of animals, suggest that the artist was trying to capture a raw and personal encounter with these animals. The sketches feel more immediate and authentic, but the question remains whether this aesthetic choice effectively expressed new cultural values in Danish society, or perhaps signaled the artist's attempt to break free from institutional constraints. By studying the artist’s broader body of work, coupled with archival research of exhibition reviews, we can gain deeper insights into Larsen Stevns’ contribution to Danish art.