Den gode hyrde 1921

Niels Larsen Stevns made this watercolour, "Den gode hyrde," which translates as "The Good Shepherd." I'm looking at the way the washes create a transparent and luminous atmosphere, you know? The strokes of green and brown form a backdrop for the figure and the flock. I can imagine Stevns layering thin washes, letting each layer dry before adding another, building up the image gradually. What was he thinking when he decided to leave parts of the drawing unfinished, with just the barest indication of form? Maybe he wanted to suggest the ephemeral nature of the scene, the way it is still emerging and shifting. It's like he’s in conversation with other artists, you know? The Pre-Raphaelites, maybe. The Fauves. So much inspiration. And isn't that what art is all about, this ongoing exchange of ideas across time? Embracing ambiguity, inviting multiple readings, letting meaning unfold.