Stående kvindelig model 1823 - 1923

Curator: Here we have "Stående kvindelig model" – or "Standing Female Model" – by Vilhelm Lundstrom, created sometime between 1823 and 1923. It's a pencil drawing currently residing here at the SMK. First impressions? Editor: Stark and unfinished, somehow. The figure is there, but it's missing...something. Maybe a face, a background, any context. It evokes a feeling of vulnerability, like catching someone in a private moment. Curator: Absolutely. The absence becomes a presence in itself. Looking at the linework, there's such confidence, isn't there? Loose, but definite. That compressed charcoal just sings with life. He gets the pose down with real ease, focusing on form. You feel the weight, the turn of the body... the very humanity of this model who we are meant to view. Editor: And what does the very act of drawing the nude figure symbolize for you? There is something ancient there that is undeniable, this has persisted throughout our time making art as a means of viewing ourselves as much as an understanding of space and time. Curator: A search for pure form, I think. Stripping away the external, the cultural... it's about the essential. Maybe it’s Lundstrom distilling his visual world down to pure planes and values – seeing her as just shapes and planes rather than simply flesh. Editor: I get that. There's also that tradition of academic studies, artists honing their skills by drawing the human figure. The way she wraps her arms suggests a classical sculpture, almost as if warding us off in protection or secrecy. Curator: A quiet strength. Although the image is unfinished, there's a completion of self, isn't there? The sketch feels like an emotional snapshot, like someone jotting down a quick memory that might quickly disappear. But maybe it is only the beginning that always counts in any new rendering, like the start of every love affair. Editor: Right. It's those unfinished touches that speak volumes and give way to so many various interpretations. Each artist's touch and personal understanding are all one needs. Curator: Beautifully said. I always come back to this idea, art becomes more rewarding each and every time you choose to gaze again and consider new ideas about its meanings. Thank you for such a wonderful reflection today!