Studie af buskads 1930 - 1936

Curator: Looking at this artwork, I am immediately struck by its unfinished quality. It gives an incredible sense of immediacy. Editor: Immediacy is a great word. For me, the rough paper and visible binding shout "sketchbook," more than finished piece. Can you tell us a bit about the artist and this "Studie af buskads?" Curator: This piece, titled "Studie af buskads," or "Study of Bushes," is a mixed-media work on paper, dating from between 1930 and 1936. It's by the Danish artist Niels Larsen Stevns and part of the collection at the SMK, the Statens Museum for Kunst. Stevns was very interested in how the art world depicted different facets of daily life. Editor: The watercolors and colored pencil feel so loose and gestural. It emphasizes process; a way to capture light and shadow quickly in order to understand the organic structures and foliage without laboring to precisely represent the details of the thing. You can feel the artist grappling with how to depict nature on the page. Curator: Absolutely, and it reflects broader art trends from this period, focusing less on traditional realism and more on impression and personal interpretation. His involvement in the artistic circles of Copenhagen undoubtedly influenced him to be bold with depicting foliage, like his contemporaries were also doing with cityscapes and figure studies. Editor: It also begs the question, was the use of mixed media paper intended for something else and was subsequently repurposed? Or did that inform the decision of media in the artwork itself? You can almost imagine him working outdoors, directly in front of his subject. Curator: Perhaps. His location certainly offered a space for art to mix with nature at that time. Editor: This sketch highlights that often the most seemingly simple or unfinished pieces can offer unique insights into an artist's working methods and the prevailing attitudes towards materials in art making at the time. Curator: And how the social and intellectual climate influenced their artistic vision.