Skitser af traner 1900 - 1905

Curator: What we have here are sketches by Niels Larsen Stevns, likely from around 1900-1905. These pencil drawings, entitled "Skitser af traner," or "Sketches of Cranes," are on paper, and they're a peek into the artist's process. Editor: Immediately, there’s a lovely sense of capturing a fleeting moment. You can almost feel the air around the birds as they're taking shape. It’s that sketch-like quality – the imperfections almost bring a vibrancy. I imagine the hand of the artist at work on the move. Curator: It is exactly that! Stevns, rooted in the Impressionist tradition, really emphasizes observation and the momentary. This page seems ripped right from a sketchbook. What’s also interesting here is his medium of choice, pencil. Often used for preliminary studies, Stevns elevates it, granting us an intimate view into his initial vision. Editor: I love your calling attention to the paper as a kind of canvas itself here. Because really, Stevns is just putting marks onto a readily available material support, the most accessible medium around to quickly map out space, movement, and volume. Were studies like these common at the time? How might have other sketches or studies of cranes factored into design or industrial processes in the same period? Curator: Yes, sketchbooks from this time are ripe with nature studies - especially ones rendering wildlife - this impulse tracks broader social concerns surrounding industrialization that began reshaping European culture in the 19th century, prompting both scientific inquiry into and deep appreciation for what the romantics considered a vanishing or fading world. Editor: So true. And there is a certain kind of luxury latent in these pages too. These kinds of pencil and paper marks index the relationship between nature, technology, and commodity, inviting us to reflect on the social conditions that permitted a Danish artist to produce sketches like these, what’s on offer today at the SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. It really encapsulates Stevns’ unique position in time. Curator: Absolutely. These sketches are far more than just studies; they are embodiments of an era, offering insight into the material conditions of making at a critical moment.