Lammet og dets følge 1933 - 1934

Niels Larsen Stevns made this sketchy drawing, Lammet og dets følge, with what looks like ink on paper. The marks are pretty raw, almost like the artist was thinking out loud. I love the way the marks build up to create something like a crowd, or a congregation. There's something appealing about the texture of the drawing, the way the ink bleeds slightly into the paper, making it feel immediate and present. The artist’s mark-making feels very intuitive, like they were just trying to capture the essence of the scene. You can see how the weight of the lines and the pressure of the pen changes to suggest depth and movement. Look at how the lines darken around the figure at the top, lending them more presence and authority, and then compare this with the quick, almost abstract marks indicating the faces in the crowd. This piece reminds me a bit of Philip Guston’s loose, expressive style – both artists seem to be embracing the messiness of the creative process. Ultimately, it’s up to us to decide what we see in this image, and how we connect with its raw, honest energy.