Skitser af får. Notater 1900 - 1905

This sketchbook page is covered with studies of sheep, made by Niels Larsen Stevns at an unknown date. You know, when I look at these nervous, searching lines, I feel the artist right there with the sheep, trying to capture something of their woolly essence, maybe even their smell. There's a tentative quality to the marks, like Stevns is thinking out loud with his pencil, circling around the subject, trying to pin it down. See how some of the lines are darker, more confident, while others are barely there, just whispers on the page? For me, the beauty of a sketch like this is in its imperfection. It’s not about getting it "right," but about the process of looking, feeling, and responding. It reminds me of work by Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who captured the quiet beauty of everyday life in rural settings, with an eye for both realism and expressive feeling. Art is more of a conversation, where ideas are always being exchanged and reinterpreted across time.