Skitser af dyr bl.a. køer og traner 1900 - 1905

Here's a page of studies made by Niels Larsen Stevns, the Danish painter, who was born in 1864. He uses what looks like graphite and colored pencil on paper. I can almost feel Larsen Stevns’s hand moving across the page, trying to capture the essence of these animals with a few quick strokes. He's using a combination of observation and memory, trying to create a shorthand for the shapes and gestures of these creatures, like the slender legs of the wading birds and the ponderous bulk of the cows. I imagine him, sketchbook in hand, trying to capture a fleeting moment, a certain pose. There's something so intimate about these sketches, the way they capture the artist's attention and focus. It reminds me that all artists, even the most accomplished ones, are constantly learning and experimenting, trying to find new ways of seeing and representing the world around them. It's like Larsen Stevns is in conversation with all the artists who have ever tried to capture the beauty and mystery of the natural world.