Høst II. To nøgne mænd, der samler kornneg 1936 - 1937

Niels Larsen Stevns made this relief sculpture, Høst II. To nøgne mænd, der samler kornneg, which translates as Harvest II. Two nude men collecting sheaves of corn, from plaster. It's all about the surface, isn't it? Look at how the bodies emerge from the block, and the way that Stevns hasn't smoothed the plaster, but instead left these deep, carved marks. Those lines and gouges really give a sense of movement and texture to the piece. The two figures are caught in this perpetual cycle of labor. Their forms are simplified, monumental almost, but the tactile quality of the plaster makes it feel immediate, grounded in the physical act of making and in the men gathering crops. There is a kind of conversation happening between the men and the corn they are gathering. Look at the negative space created by the men's legs, the gaps between the sheaves. It's almost as though their laboring actions has grown the crops. This piece reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker, who was making earthy, grounded images of rural life around the same time. Both artists tapped into something elemental about the human connection to the land.