Studie af gående dromedar 1881

Niels Larsen Stevns made this sketch of a dromedary, or Arabian camel, at an unknown date using graphite on paper. It resides today in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. This sketch presents us with an interesting question about the role of the artist as an observer of the world. Camels were not native to Denmark, so we may wonder about the circumstances under which the artist encountered this animal. Was it in a zoo or circus, where animals were displayed for public entertainment and edification? Or did the artist travel to North Africa or the Middle East, where dromedaries are common beasts of burden? By researching travel and exhibition histories from the period, we can better understand the cultural context that may have shaped Stevns' artistic vision and the social role of the artist as one who studies and interprets the natural world for public consumption.