En madopskrift 1933 - 1934

Curator: This curious work is called "En madopskrift," or "A Recipe," by Niels Larsen Stevns, dating from 1933-34. It’s a colored pencil drawing on paper and it currently resides here at the SMK. Editor: My first impression is of…well, a secret. It’s incredibly intimate, like stumbling across someone’s private thoughts or maybe a witch’s spellbook. I love that feeling. Curator: That sense of intimacy is certainly there. Recipes are often tied to specific moments and people. Looking at it symbolically, you could say a recipe represents a kind of cultural inheritance. How we blend ingredients – traditions, techniques, and spices—determines what the next course will be. Editor: Precisely! And Stevns uses color pencil in such a casual way here; he feels so close, it’s more than just a rendering, it’s a feeling of presence! I almost imagine myself in the kitchen next to him, scribbling down my own adjustments. Curator: Interesting! One might read those additions as a kind of personalization. Stevns seems to be saying that culture isn't just passively inherited; it's actively interpreted and changed through repetition. I wonder what each ingredient means. What cultural symbol lies in “tomato” or “spinach”? Editor: Perhaps spinach equals vitality. Think of Popeye! Curator: An accessible connection. And "tomato" suggests sunshine. A life force, or love itself? What’s also captivating is its incomplete nature. The drawing has more ingredients only partially written. I wonder what this conscious omission means? What do we think is still worth retaining as an experience, idea, or cultural values? Editor: You are right! I suppose, consciously and unconsciously, that as humans we're all editing all of the time. We decide what is important, what works for us. Thanks to you, I will look at my grandmother's cookbook differently now. Curator: And thanks to you, I appreciate just how much artistry is captured even in the simplest recipe!