Studier af stork eller hejre 1864 - 1941

This is a sketchbook page of Studies of a Stork or Heron by Niels Larsen Stevns, housed at the SMK. Made without a set date, the quick graphite lines across the page represent the artist’s early notations. The eye is immediately drawn to the repetition of form. We see the head and beak of the bird repeated in various angles and gestures. The structural arrangement presents us with a study in movement, a theme dear to the artist’s heart. The light and swift lines seem to capture not just the physical likeness of the bird but also a sense of its character. Stevns’ approach can be seen in the context of early formalist exercises, where capturing essence and form took precedence over detailed representation. These sketches, while simple in appearance, provide an insight into the artist’s structural methods. They reveal how Stevns deconstructed and then reconstructed his subject through line and form. The act of sketching itself becomes a study in how art can represent both the external world and the artist’s internal perception.