Studier af hænder. Skitser til Slagelse-fresken "Den barmhjertige Samaritan" 1930 - 1936

Curator: What strikes me immediately about this work, these studies really, is their searching quality. They’re so raw, capturing a restless energy. Editor: And that, I think, stems from their materiality. We are looking at Niels Larsen Stevns' "Studies of Hands. Sketches for the Slagelse Fresco 'The Good Samaritan,'" which he created between 1930 and 1936, using pencil on paper. It's fascinating to see how such simple materials served a grander purpose. Curator: Exactly. There’s a beautiful tension here between the ephemerality of the sketch—almost like a thought caught on paper—and the ambition of the fresco they’re destined for. I imagine him, almost possessed, filling page after page trying to understand that perfect gesture. Editor: The repetition of hands also tells a story about labor—not only Stevns's labor, translating biblical narrative through figuration, but also the hands he depicts, surely laborers themselves, performing care and, possibly, bearing the marks of hard work. Curator: Yes, absolutely. Those strong, expressive lines aren’t just anatomy lessons. They are channeling the energy, the *soul* of laboring hands, don't you think? There is such care. You can feel the artist, seeing with his own heart, trying to show us something sacred in an ordinary gesture. Editor: Indeed. The material, the pencil and paper, become secondary to the primary focus on the hand. It's so appropriate for the theme, too, that even these sketches, the unseen foundations of the final work, still speak to generosity and human connection. The production value, or lack of it, amplifies that message. Curator: I love that. We get a sense of the journey to making something whole, right? What might otherwise have stayed private or unfinished became itself something deeply considered. It offers a vulnerable view into the soul of the finished work. Editor: Ultimately, viewing these pencil sketches draws out labor into focus.