Englene på Herrens trone 1924

Joakim Skovgaard made this drawing, Englene på Herrens trone, with ink on paper. The whole scene is rendered in these nervous, energetic lines, kind of vibrating off the page! I can feel him working, trying to capture this vision of angels around a throne. There’s a real sense of searching, of the image coming into being right before our eyes. I wonder, did he make this as a study for a larger painting, or was it meant to be seen on its own? Look how he uses these quick, repetitive strokes to create volume and texture. The angels almost seem to emerge from the clouds, their forms dissolving and reforming in the light. I find the angel on the right particularly interesting; her wings and gown are really brought to life with all these tight lines. You can imagine Skovgaard wanting to capture a sense of the divine, the ineffable. It reminds me of the drawings of other visionary artists. We’re all in conversation with each other!