Studier af ørn og paradisfugl 1864 - 1941

This page of bird studies was drawn by Niels Larsen Stevns, though we don’t know exactly when. He used what looks like brown ink on paper. The strokes are confident and exploratory, as if the artist is thinking through the act of drawing itself. It is all about process. Looking at the upper bird, you can see how Stevns maps the wing with a series of short, parallel lines. There's a real energy here, as though he's trying to capture not just the appearance but also the potential for movement, the way those feathers might catch the wind. There's a wonderful tension between the precision of the lines and the freedom of the overall sketch. It reminds me of Delacroix’s animal studies, that same fascination with the animal's essence rather than just its form. These sketches are not about perfection; they're about the joy of seeing and the act of recording. It's like joining Stevns in his studio, watching his thoughts take shape on paper.