Plante- og figurstudie 1906 - 1910

Niels Larsen Stevns made this plant and figure study with graphite on paper. It looks like a page torn straight from the artist's sketchbook! It's fascinating how the artist captured fleeting thoughts and ideas. You can see the texture of the paper, feel the pressure of the pencil, and sense the artist's hand moving across the surface. There are lines everywhere, each one contributing to a sense of movement. The way the lines cross and overlap is really beautiful. There is a large leaf in the centre, and the way the lines radiate out from the stem makes me think of gothic architecture, like a fan vault. I'm reminded of the drawings of Philip Guston, in the way both artists embrace a kind of raw, imperfect beauty. Ultimately, art is about exploration and discovery. It's about embracing the unknown and trusting the process, and that's exactly what I see happening here.