Studie af ørn 1864 - 1941

Curator: Here we have "Studie af Ørn," or "Study of Eagle," by Niels Larsen Stevns. The dates ascribed to the work span 1864 to 1941. This pencil drawing on paper is currently held at the SMK, the Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: Well, my first impression is…fragmentary. It’s a ghost of an eagle, barely there, almost like a fever dream scrawled in the margins of an old book. You can feel the urgency, the need to capture something fleeting. Curator: That sense of immediacy is key. Sketchbooks, like this one, offer a direct line to the artist’s thought process. Stevns likely used this study to prepare for a larger, more formal composition. Editor: You can practically smell the turpentine, feel the grit of the pencil on the tooth of the paper. It makes me think about the symbolic weight we place on eagles—freedom, power, empire. But here, it's just vulnerable lines searching for a form. Curator: Exactly. It strips away the propagandistic gloss to reveal the bird's anatomy and essential characteristics. There’s a long tradition of artists using animal studies to understand movement and expression, from Stubbs’ horses to Delacroix’s lions. Stevns situates himself within that lineage. Editor: But beyond that tradition, I see something personal. This isn't just a study, it's an encounter. It's like Stevns is wrestling with the idea of the eagle, not just its physical shape. It's searching. Curator: The line work definitely conveys that sense of searching, of not quite capturing the whole essence of the subject. Realism through raw impression. It mirrors broader societal shifts, doesn’t it? Questioning established narratives. Editor: It's that feeling of becoming that I find so attractive! A quiet drawing humming with fierce, caged potential. Makes you think about your own unfinished symphonies, doesn't it? Curator: It does indeed, a stark reminder that art is about progress rather than pure achievement, isn’t it? Editor: So true. It’s less of an arrival and more of an odyssey that keeps going with these lines.