Blank 1902 - 1905

Niels Larsen Stevns made this small painting on paper with muted blues and reds. It’s like looking at a memory, isn't it? I can imagine Stevns in his studio, maybe late in the day, grabbing a sheet and just letting the colors bleed and blend. What was he thinking? There's a figure, maybe two, emerging from the ground, but so faint. The surface is stained and spotted, like the paper has absorbed the history of its own making, it's seen things. It reminds me of other painters who let the material lead the way, like Twombly, or even some of those early Renaissance frescoes, where the wall itself becomes part of the picture. But it’s also very much its own thing, very intimate. You can feel Stevns experimenting, improvising. The gesture is more like a whisper here. And that's what keeps me looking - that sense of something just beyond reach, a fleeting moment captured in paint.