Skitse af en rytterstatue 1905 - 1907

Editor: Right now, we're looking at "Sketch of an Equestrian Statue" by Niels Larsen Stevns, from between 1905 and 1907. It’s a pencil drawing, surprisingly intimate, given its subject matter is meant to be this grand, heroic figure. The lines are quick, suggestive...almost hesitant. What strikes you about it? Curator: It's funny you say hesitant, because I almost see the opposite – a flurry of initial ideas! I love how the grid of the paper peeks through, reminding us it's a working drawing, a step on a longer journey. And you’re right, there’s something wonderfully vulnerable about seeing a would-be monument in this skeletal form. Do you think that makes the finished version more potent, to know how frail its inception was? Editor: Possibly. I hadn’t thought of it that way. The sketchbook format does lend a sense of informality. Knowing the date, I am interested if the artist was looking at past statues of similar theme for inspiration. How much do you think previous art forms impact this one? Curator: I am willing to bet they were. And the really delicious thing about all that baggage of tradition is the possibilities that open up when you chose to uphold or discard those traditions. But art history aside, don’t you think you could find something deeply touching in just the ambition? All the promise bound up in such tentative marks? Editor: Definitely. It does give you pause to imagine what the statue could become... or not become. Thanks! Curator: Anytime! Thanks for the insight. It’s wonderful to reflect and try to project that imagination.