Skitse af Majestas Domini (efter kalkmaleri?), med farveangivelser 1906 - 1910

Curator: Here we have "Skitse af Majestas Domini (efter kalkmaleri?), med farveangivelser," a pencil drawing on paper by Niels Larsen Stevns, created sometime between 1906 and 1910. It’s currently held at the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst. My immediate reaction is how delicate it appears, like a whispered prayer captured in lines. Editor: It’s intriguing, seeing the artist’s process so bare. The sketch quality allows one to study the construction, or reconstruction really, of the original fresco as artifact of medieval image making and visual communication. Note the materiality; pencil on paper provides a direct link to the hand and thought of the artist. Curator: Absolutely, and the medieval theme certainly amplifies the effect of direct access. Stevns clearly aimed to capture not just the visual likeness of the Majestas Domini, but something of its spiritual gravity, even in this preliminary form. I almost feel a resonance with the past here. What are your impressions on this? Editor: This resonates for me not with spirituality, but labour. This isn’t some purely creative outburst; it’s a working document, a translation from monumental wall painting to portable sketch. The added color indications further underscore that labor; instructions guiding a subsequent application of materials. The work provides access to both original artistic intention and the practical considerations needed to realize large scale pieces. Curator: I see that completely – instructions layered over intuition – fascinating. Thinking of process and labor then, the sketch gives insight into Niels Stevns’ own encounter with the medieval style, he adopts its stylistic devices, then, perhaps later integrates those forms into his later, original, works. What do you take away as final thought on the piece? Editor: I’m struck again by the tangible sense of artistic production; how the work invites critical questioning of the art making, especially craft traditions often relegated from a more individual, art making realm. Curator: For me, it's the combination of the raw and the refined. It captures a dialogue across time and traditions, from the monumental medieval artistry of fresco paintings to this one artist sitting with pencil in hand translating color, shape, and meaning into a new visual iteration.