Udkast til bibelsk motiv. Den Blodsottige kvinde 1864 - 1941

This graphite sketch of the "Bleeding Woman" motif was made by Niels Larsen Stevns. As a preliminary study, the artist used thin strokes to quickly capture the composition and the emotional intensity of this biblical scene, focusing on the bodily presence and the emotional weight carried by the figures. The economic and gestural properties of drawing on paper – immediate and accessible – are quite palpable. Stevns has also used the paper support as a means to plan and revise his composition. If he were using oil on canvas, such immediate revisions would be harder to accomplish, as well as being more expensive, due to the high cost of materials. Here, the artist lets the graphite lines be visible, showing us his thinking process as he develops the final composition. Considering the ease and the portability of the sketchbook, we can see it not just as a repository of ideas, but as a space of experimentation where the artist could freely explore his creativity without the pressure of the final product.