Ansigtsskitser 1906

These 'Ansigtsskitser', or face sketches, by Niels Larsen Stevns were done with pencil on paper. Look closely, and you can see the grid of the notebook page, like the artist was using it as a guide or maybe even a constraint. I love seeing these kinds of sketches, because it gives you such an insight into an artist's mind. Was he just doodling? Or was he really trying to capture something specific about these faces? The lines are so light and quick, almost like he's trying to catch a fleeting thought. You can see one little eye, all by itself. And then these other shapes that might be noses or mouths, all kind of jumbled together. It makes me think about how faces are just made up of these little pieces, and how hard it is to really see them, to really understand what they mean. Stevns is in conversation with the likes of Rodin, who also had an interest in a fragmented, partial figure. Sketching like this is an art form, a way of thinking and seeing that's all about possibility.