To figurstudier til "Kristus velsigner børnene" (1937-38) 1935

Curator: Let's talk about Niels Larsen Stevns' preparatory sketches, "To figurstudier til 'Kristus velsigner børnene'" from around 1935, crafted in pencil. Editor: The raw simplicity of the lines against the paper really strikes me. What's particularly interesting from your point of view? Curator: Considering its material production reveals something significant. Stevns used readily available, inexpensive materials – paper and pencil. This choice democratizes the artistic process. It challenges the notion of art as solely the product of luxury and privileged access. The sketches weren't meant as ends in themselves, but rather as functional steps toward a larger, presumably commissioned, work. Do you notice the difference in the labor invested? Editor: Definitely, these sketches suggest process over product. How does the fact that these are studies, influence the cultural context? Curator: Exactly! As studies for the final painting it shifts focus to labor. It exposes the artist’s process of ideation. Rather than seeing the divine inspiration in the final painting, we see the sheer human work it required. These studies are not high art as much as workshop practices. Considering the intended audience or patron impacts this interpretation as well, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Absolutely, seeing the material reality of artistic creation reframes the work itself. Curator: The materiality points us to a reality often obscured: the concrete conditions of artistic production and reception. Stevns has made a business in portraying Christian beliefs, while he is working and selling art he has to deal with patrons, dealers and society values, and so we must question for whom this material process exists, as its ultimate conclusion isn't artistic statement for the masses, but economic value that reinforces social structures. Editor: I never considered it that way before! It makes me see that these sketches, beyond their artistic value, are really a record of labor and social exchange.