Studier af fugle 1864 - 1941

Editor: Here we have "Studies of Birds," attributed to Niels Larsen Stevns, likely created between 1864 and 1941. It's a graphite drawing on paper, almost ghostly in its lightness. The birds are barely there! What captures your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: It’s the fleeting quality, isn't it? These aren't portraits, more like whispers of observation, capturing the bird in the barest essence of its form. Think about the artist outside, trying to seize that ephemeral gesture – the quick turn of the head, the hunch of its body just before it springs away! Editor: It's interesting to think about the movement. How does the medium, the pencil, affect that? Curator: Exactly. Graphite allows for a remarkable lightness and speed. There is no laborious, heavy mark-making. This works perfectly in concert with Stevns intention, because how can one really fix down in a heavy manner an impression of freedom like a bird flying away? You almost feel that breath, the energy of his own observing. What I think is that the artist wants the essence to be present but light. Can you see where I’m coming from? Editor: I think so. Almost as if overworking the drawing would defeat the purpose. So, it's not about anatomical precision. Curator: Not at all. The beauty lies in suggestion. Each little sketch invites us to project our imagination. Do these rough marks represent flying away, observing, or maybe landing on some lonely countryside perch? These birds take to wing through suggestion. Editor: I’m seeing that now. It is kind of beautiful how much he suggests with so little! Curator: Precisely. It’s a meditation of seeing, truly. It’s something that both Stevns and we as viewers now participate in! Editor: That makes me think about all the other quick observations artists make, just scribbles in a notebook leading to bigger things. Thanks, that’s a neat perspective!