To personer siddende ved et bord 1911 - 1935

Editor: Agnes Slott-Møller's "To personer siddende ved et bord," dating somewhere between 1911 and 1935, is a seemingly simple pencil drawing. There's something so immediate about seeing the artist's process laid bare. What strikes me is the apparent casualness of it all; what can you tell me about that? Curator: What's most compelling to me is considering this work as documentation of artistic labor. The 'casualness' you describe speaks to the potential function of the work – as a means for Slott-Møller to work through ideas. It’s just pencil on paper, but consider what these readily available materials meant, materially and socially, for a woman artist in the early 20th century. Editor: So you see it less as a finished piece, and more about the act of making? Like, almost a record of thought? Curator: Precisely. Think about the act of drawing itself – the pressure of the pencil on the paper, the repetitive movements, the embodied experience of creation. How does the chosen medium—pencil, a relatively inexpensive and accessible material—reflect on Slott-Møller’s access to resources and perhaps her role within the broader artistic landscape? It’s far from the grand oil paintings of the male artists of her time. Editor: That makes me wonder if this kind of drawing was considered 'lesser' because of its materials or perceived ease of creation, but it holds a unique power precisely *because* of that. Curator: Exactly! By valuing these "minor" works and the labor inherent in them, we can start to dismantle hierarchies within art history. What does it tell us that this intimate work resides in the Statens Museum for Kunst today? Editor: This makes me see sketches like this with new eyes - less as preparatory and more as valuable expressions of the artist's everyday practice. Thank you. Curator: The value isn't solely in the finished product, but in the journey, the process, and the often-unseen labor that underpins artistic creation. Thank you for raising those very important issues.