Notat vedrørende Børglum Kloster. Udskrift af Pontoppidans Danske Atlas 1933 - 1934

Niels Larsen Stevns made this writing, 'Notat vedrørende Børglum Kloster. Udskrift af Pontoppidans Danske Atlas', sometime before 1941. I can only imagine him, maybe in his studio or on location, carefully transcribing these historical notes with his pen. It’s like he’s thinking about the architecture of the Børglum Monastery through the architecture of language. Each letter a brick, each sentence a room. The rhythm of the handwriting suggests a kind of meditative focus. I wonder if he felt a connection to the past as he wrote, a dialogue with the original author? Stevns was part of a generation of artists who looked to history and national identity for inspiration. I am thinking about other painters like Anna Ancher, how they engaged with their cultural heritage through their work. There's a kind of conversation happening across time, where each artist builds upon the ideas and expressions of those who came before. It’s as though Stevns is in conversation with Pontoppidan, and now we are in conversation with Stevns!