Portræt af kunstnerens kone, Besse Giersing 1922

Curator: Here we have Harald Giersing’s 1922 pencil drawing, "Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Besse Giersing," currently residing here at the SMK. Editor: Oh, this has such an immediate, vulnerable feel. The tentative lines, the downward gaze—it's almost as if we’re catching her in a private moment. Curator: Indeed. It's interesting how Giersing captures this intimacy through a seemingly unfinished, almost sketchy style. Remember, he was deeply engaged with modernism and expressionism, and how those styles sought to explore the inner life, psychological states, over mere surface likeness. Editor: Exactly! The looseness somehow adds to the emotional weight, right? I keep wondering what she's thinking. Or, more accurately, what he was seeing in her at that moment. Is it fatigue? Disenchantment? Or something more tender? It is all speculation! Curator: Well, one could interpret her expression through the lens of their marriage itself. They had a complex relationship; and as an artist who, even within Danish modernism, maintained a degree of engagement with traditional subject matter, portraits—particularly of his wife—offered him a way to grapple with both personal and artistic challenges. It’s a subtle rebellion against idealized representation. Editor: A rebellion in charcoal, perhaps? The thing that I appreciate the most is how expressive the line work becomes. The simple scratching around the face, it feels immediate. Curator: Giersing was interested in how he could depict psychological space and make that a key feature of the work. Editor: I’ll bet his wife felt very… seen… by this artwork. Which is really, when you think about it, what every artist hopes to accomplish, no? Curator: That is, perhaps, what every artist hopes to achieve. Editor: Regardless, I find it really touching. Curator: It provides an intriguing glimpse into the relationship and, more broadly, the artistic concerns of its time.