Kolding havn 1902 - 1903

Niels Larsen Stevns made this line drawing of Kolding Harbour with graphite on paper. You can almost feel the artist hovering over the scene, quickly scribbling the impression of the shipyard and its industrial structures with a series of marks. I imagine Stevns rapidly moving the graphite across the surface, led by intuition. What was he thinking as he scratched this scene into life? Perhaps he was trying to capture the industrialization of the small Danish town? Note the thinness of the graphite. It’s almost as though the artist is making light of industry, presenting it with an airy quality. The delicate surface emphasizes the sketch-like quality, as if it's a moment that the artist has happened upon, documented in a state of emergence. The lines vibrate with a kind of energy which many artists seek when making a drawing. It reminds me of Picasso's line drawings, or Cy Twombly's scribbles. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, inspiring one another’s creativity across time. Painting is a form of expression which embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.