Studier af sommerfugl 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made this study of a butterfly using ink on paper; it's more like an intimate page from a sketchbook. I can just imagine him outside, perhaps sitting in a field with his sketchbook on his lap, trying to capture the fleeting beauty of these delicate creatures. It's all about the immediacy of the moment, right? You see him trying to capture the gestures of the butterfly, the fragile wings and intricate patterns. The ink lines are so descriptive and yet so open. I'm struck by how much is suggested rather than defined. It’s like, he’s not just drawing a butterfly, but also drawing the feeling of a butterfly. As a painter, I feel such a kinship with Stevns. He is trying to capture what he sees, but he is also channeling his emotional response through the simple act of mark-making. It’s a conversation across time about how to see and feel the world.