Løse figurskitser 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made this set of loose figure sketches with pencil on paper. I can only imagine him in the studio with his pencil going for a walk, trying to find the most interesting, odd angles and ways to suggest a body. These figures emerge from the page so gently. See how the artist has given them weight and form with the simplest of means. It's like he's capturing the feeling of a person, not necessarily the exact look of them. I wonder if it relates to other drawings of his. He’s really thinking through how to translate three dimensions onto a flat plane. These sketches remind me of the drawings of Paula Rego. Both artists allow the process of sketching to guide their understanding of their subjects. I think artists are always in dialogue with each other, across time, trying to figure out how to see and represent the world in new ways.