Strandparti fra Als 1912

Agnes Slott-Møller sketched this beach scene from Als with graphite on paper in 1912; what strikes me is the sketchiness, the obviousness of its making. I love that Slott-Møller lets us see how she sees, lets us into her process. The paper is the palest cream, and the graphite marks range from the faintest whisper to darker, smudgier patches. The marks build up to give us a sense of the solid forms of the trees and the gentle undulation of the land, but it’s all suggestion. Look how the lines of the sea barely touch the paper. The whole thing feels so light, so fleeting. And that’s the beauty of it, right? It reminds me of Constable's cloud studies, an artist trying to capture something of the moment, knowing it's always changing. The piece is a reminder that art is not about perfection, but about exploration. It’s in the conversation, the exchange, that art really lives.