Studier af gravstene 1919

Niels Larsen Stevns sketched these studies of gravestones in pencil, probably en plein air. I love these small drawings, they feel so intimate! Look at the central image: the circular motif. It's a headstone, of course, but it could be a wreath, or a portal. It’s loosely drawn, like automatic writing, full of feeling. I imagine Stevns standing there, sketchbook in hand, trying to capture something of the place, the feeling in the air, the weight of history. These marks are so tentative, it’s like he’s feeling his way through the image, and it’s so different from a photograph. With drawing, you have to slow down and engage, feeling your way, line by line. You can really see the artist's thinking in the marks.