Studier af råger eller ravne 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made these studies of rooks or ravens in a sketchbook, giving us a peek into his process. The marks are quick, searching, like he’s trying to capture the essence of these birds in flight, or maybe just their beaks. There’s a real tactile quality to the drawing, you can almost feel the scratch of the pencil on the page. The lines vary in weight, some are delicate and tentative, others are bolder, more confident. Look at the beak on the lower left, it’s densely shaded, almost sculptural, while the others are just outlines, like ghosts of birds. That beak has real weight and density. It reminds me a bit of some of Philip Guston’s late drawings, that same sense of awkwardness and directness. Ultimately, art is an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time, and there’s always room for multiple interpretations.