Rygstudie af samme model samt to studier af ben 1913 - 1917

Curator: Here we have Harald Giersing's "Rygstudie af samme model samt to studier af ben," a pencil drawing completed sometime between 1913 and 1917. Editor: It feels like a glimpse into a fleeting moment, doesn't it? Sparse, almost like a half-remembered dream of a figure, or maybe just the idea of one. The isolation of each limb amplifies that fragmented mood, a body coming undone. Curator: The nature of sketches is precisely that—moments, studies—but it's interesting how the figuration invites so many interpretations. Consider the socio-political climate in Europe at the time; Giersing's choice to focus on the body, divorced from specific narrative, speaks to the broader modernist project of stripping away artifice. Editor: Perhaps, or perhaps it's just the raw joy of seeing and capturing what he sees. It has the nervous, energetic quality I always find in drawings. You see all the decision-making, all the second guesses, it feels like access to the mind in motion, a bit messy maybe? I love that the sensuality lies in the charcoal dust itself. Curator: Indeed. The medium is as important as the subject. Charcoal allowed Giersing an immediacy that lent itself perfectly to these rapid studies. One can appreciate how the placement of these drawings on the paper, the negative space around them, speaks to broader currents in early 20th century Scandinavian art. The art academy prioritized precise study from models, the development of one’s “eye.” This kind of quick rendering captures an educational ethos as well. Editor: Education…practice… Or maybe Giersing simply relished the way the light fell across the model’s back that day and wanted to remember it later. Some things resist the net of meaning, which is wonderful in its own way. The drawing whispers a possible story but stubbornly refuses to be pinned down. It leaves me with a nice feeling of being present in an instant with both the artist and the model. Curator: Precisely, the beauty often lies in that tension, between historical context and personal resonance. Editor: Beautifully said, perhaps Giersing felt it, too.