Tidstavle over H.C. Andersens liv 1866-1844 1930 - 1938

This page, inscribed by Niels Larsen Stevns, acts as a timeline of H.C. Andersen’s life, spanning from 1866 to 1844. The handwriting has a beautiful rhythm, like a dance across the page, and the sepia tones are like looking into the past. The materiality of the writing is what grabs me. The ink bleeds slightly into the paper, creating soft edges, and the pressure varies, giving the lines a sense of depth. Notice how some words are bolder, more assertive, while others fade into the background. There is a beautiful passage describing a journey "fran Bregenkol," as if the words themselves are on a voyage. It reminds me that even language has a texture and that it is a physical presence. Stevns was working around the same time as artists like Edvard Munch. Both were interested in psychological states, in the inner life of the individual. But while Munch used swirling, expressive brushstrokes, Stevns uses the act of writing itself to trace the contours of a life. For me, it shows how different approaches can circle around a shared exploration of what it means to be human.