Studie af baron H. Stampe efter Thorvaldsen (?). Notater 1930 - 1936

This is a pencil drawing of Baron H. Stampe after Thorvaldsen, or so Niels Larsen Stevns thought. It's all about the process, right? The nervous energy in those scribbled lines gives so much. It's a reminder that art isn’t about perfection, but about an ongoing conversation with the subject. Look at the eye on the right, it's not really there, but it IS there, you know? The density of the lines around the jaw tells me something about the artist's feelings - or maybe he was just tired there! It reminds me of some of Guston's late drawings, where the line becomes this incredibly expressive thing. Both artists aren’t afraid to let the messiness of the process show, and that's what makes the work so alive. It’s like they’re saying, "Here’s how I see, here’s how I feel, take it or leave it."