Studier af ørn og høne 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns created this pencil sketch of an eagle and hen. Here we see a page in a sketchbook, with two studies, quick studies. On the one hand, the artist is looking for accuracy: the way the feathers overlap and spread on the eagle's wing; or how the hen tucks its head into its body, the artist capturing its weight. But the looseness of the line also suggests something else, a playful, free-flowing, and almost dreamlike quality. The artist's hand moves freely and intuitively across the paper, capturing the essence of the birds. It makes me think about the process of drawing, and the process of study. What is the artist looking for, and how do they use the medium to find it? Are they in conversation with other artists who have drawn birds – Durer, for example? It reminds us that art is an ongoing process of inquiry, influence, and exchange.