Løse rids 1900 - 1905

Niels Larsen Stevns made this small drawing, probably with graphite, in a sketchbook. It’s a page of loose marks, and that title, "Løse rids," feels just right – loose scratches. I like seeing an artist working things out. The lines aren’t precious; they overlap and search. There are faint gridlines underneath, a structure for Stevns to push against. I get the sense of a hand moving quickly, trying to capture something fleeting. The texture of the paper feels almost as important as the marks themselves. You can see little imperfections and smudges, evidence of the artist's process, like a dance across the page. The grouping of vertical lines, a little like teeth, feels quite distinct from the swirling shapes above, yet they speak to one another. It reminds me a little of Odilon Redon, that same embrace of ambiguity and the power of suggestion, reminding us that art is more about questioning than answering.