Studie af hest 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made this sketch of a horse with pencil on paper. Stevns was a Danish artist whose career bloomed around the turn of the twentieth century. While this sketch doesn't have a known date, understanding its institutional context is key to its interpretation. It comes from a sketchbook acquired by the Statens Museum for Kunst, or SMK. As a national art museum, the SMK has played a major role in establishing the canon of Danish art, influencing which artists and styles get remembered. Horses have a long symbolic association with the military and aristocracy. While Stevns is not necessarily making a grand statement about Danish power, this study reflects an academic interest in the animal form, an interest that was cultivated and encouraged by art institutions of the time. Looking at the sketchbooks of artists like Stevns can give us a clearer picture of the social conditions that shaped artistic production during his time.