En løve, planter og et ben 1870 - 1873

Editor: This is "In Lion's Paw, Plants and a Bone" by Lorenz Frølich, made between 1870 and 1873 using ink. The drawing feels incomplete, a fleeting thought captured on paper. What strikes you when you look at this work? Curator: Oh, it’s a raw and enigmatic sketch! The lion, almost tentative, peeking from behind the trees...it's as if Frølich is inviting us into his creative den. The visible pen strokes give it a beautiful sense of movement, almost vibrating with a certain nervous energy. There is some plant, yes. Do you feel it adds texture or some contrast with the animal form? Editor: Definitely texture. The way the plant's strokes are so dense and dark versus the lion, which has very light strokes and seems further away. Maybe the lion feels threatened by this area, or doesn't recognize it, so it holds back. What does it mean to you that the lion has these objects “in his paw”? Curator: The phrase "in lion's paw" immediately brings to mind ideas of something being held precariously, in potent but perhaps unsafe keeping. Frølich, in my imagination, is poking fun at our assumptions, blurring lines between the fierce and the vulnerable, you see? Does it change how you perceive the sketch? Editor: It does. I'm starting to see the humor in it, that even the "king of the jungle" has something to fear, or at least contemplate carefully! I'd missed that layer before. Thanks. Curator: Precisely! And isn’t that the delight of art – finding those little whispers that were almost overlooked, a new layer of complexity or a fresh interpretation, and most importantly, how our emotions intertwine with the lines on the paper. Editor: I agree. I came to see a sketch; I leave seeing a commentary on power and perspective, which is much cooler!