Landskabsstudie 1930 - 1936

This is a landscape study by Niels Larsen Stevns, worked on paper in watercolor. Immediately, one notices how Stevns has captured the essence of a landscape through color and simple form. The composition divides itself into horizontal bands. Note how the blurred colors of the sky and the ground are punctuated with loosely applied brushstrokes in greens, reds and blues. Stevns's application of watercolor, with its fluid and translucent qualities, results in an atmospheric depth. He has used the medium not to represent but rather to suggest—to allude to the underlying structures of the landscape. This approach anticipates the shift towards abstraction, where the intrinsic qualities of paint and color take precedence. By deconstructing the landscape into basic components of form, Stevns invites a deeper reflection on our perception and conceptualization of nature. The sketch destabilizes our expectation of traditional landscape painting. Stevns challenges the viewer to reconstruct the scene, thereby participating in the artwork's unfolding meaning.