Studier af oldkristne motiver, samt notater. Ravenna 1902 - 1905

Niels Larsen Stevns made this study of early Christian motifs and notes, from Ravenna, with watercolour, pen, and graphite on paper. Just imagine the act of painting itself, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Stevns and wonder what it might have been like to create this. What might he have been thinking when he made it? The texture of the paper, the fluidity of the watercolor – you can sense the materiality of the paint itself. And the way the green tendrils unfurl! A painter makes a gesture and communicates feeling, intention, maybe even meaning. I wonder if Stevns felt a deep connection to the past, looking at the work of others and finding something that resonated with him. Artists are always in an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time. Painting is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations. It is not about a fixed reading, but about opening up possibilities.