Studier af næsebjørn 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made these Studies of a Coati in pencil, likely in preparation for a larger painting. The paper has that lovely warm tone you get over time, and this makes the silvery graphite pop. It's so casual, you know? Like he's just doodling while thinking about something else. I love how the lines are tentative, searching. You can see him trying to capture the animal's form from different angles, circling around the nose and snout with these quick, light marks. The texture of the paper is almost like the coati's fur, scratchy and soft at the same time. The way he's layered these sketches, it reminds me of Philip Guston's late drawings, this feeling of endless revision and exploration. Art isn't about getting it right the first time, it's about the process of discovery, all the starts and stops along the way.