Studie af to stående figurer, næsten identiske med figurer i kunstnerens maleri "Elskov, opus I", 1915 1913 - 1914

This is J.A. Jerichau’s study of two standing figures from 1915, made with ink on paper, all nervous lines and jittery energy. The colours are muted and the marks are tentative. I love how you can see the artist working through an idea, the initial sketch barely visible beneath layers of ink, like a half-erased thought. The surface is alive with scribbles, quick gestures, and revisions. It looks like he was searching for the right form, the perfect pose, and never quite finding it, which is kind of exciting. Those dark ink lines, they’re so sure, so confident, and yet they’re also kind of fragile. I’m drawn to the way the figures emerge from the background, almost as if they’re trying to escape the confines of the page. They feel so raw, so vulnerable, like they're caught in a moment of transformation. Seeing this makes me think of Paula Modersohn-Becker, another artist who was interested in capturing the raw, unfiltered essence of human experience. Both of these artists remind us that art is not about perfection, but about the messy, beautiful process of becoming.