Blank 1864 - 1941

Editor: We’re looking at “Blank” by Niels Larsen Stevns, likely made between 1864 and 1941. It appears to be a drawing on paper using coloured pencil. The blank page has a certain quietude to it; what formal qualities strike you most? Curator: The interplay of textures and the subtle variations in tone are immediately compelling. Note the rough edges of the aged paper against the smoother, seemingly untouched surface of the drawing area. How do you perceive the use of light and shadow here? Editor: The light seems to emphasize the materiality of the paper itself – almost like it’s the subject rather than the ground. Is that a deliberate act by the artist, in your opinion? Curator: Perhaps. Or it might reflect a conscious attempt to foreground the inherent qualities of the materials. We can see a dialectic developing: the 'blankness' against the textural density and binding of the overall work. Note the absence of overt pictorial elements draws our attention to the physicality of the paper. Editor: It’s interesting to consider the blankness as a conscious decision and active agent rather than a lack of content. Curator: Exactly. What else did you notice? Perhaps consider how this silence in art speaks? Editor: Well, thinking of the date, I now wonder about Modernism. Is there a link? Curator: Most definitely. We can observe its aesthetic austerity through an understanding of how minimalism operates or highlights certain semiotic relationships within a compositional framework by denying representation in its conventional, accessible sense. Editor: Thanks. Considering pure form shifts my perspective significantly. It is amazing how much can be seen in what seems like a blank drawing. Curator: Precisely, and that's the power of formalism, directing us towards this unique observation.