Studie af kapitæler 1896

Curator: Here we have "Studie af kapitæler", a pencil drawing from 1896 by Niels Larsen Stevns, housed here at the SMK. A quick sketch across a yellowed page. Editor: My first thought is a kind of quiet, thoughtful preparation. The pencil strokes are faint, suggestive. A visual prelude to something more…permanent perhaps? Curator: It’s academic art in the traditional sense, a study of classical capitals –the uppermost part of a column. Though "study" diminishes the artistic curiosity here, don't you think? He's tracing history. Editor: Absolutely! Capitals have always signified power, legacy, even spiritual authority. What stories are embedded in those curls and volutes? In which temples did they preside? In this rough state we might also be talking about memory, with elements partly preserved. Curator: There’s a stripped-down quality to these capitals though, free of grand statement. A single artist and a page, that's all it needed. One intimate dance with historical significance, caught as the light faded for the day! Editor: True. While grand designs do scream power, sketches like this speak of origins: seeds of knowledge, how artistry comes alive from its initial bare outlines! The architecture is deconstructed and, to me, the human intention remains the main symbolic presence here. Curator: It’s tempting to imagine Stevns sketching furiously by candlelight, obsessed with those forms that bridge us to antiquity. It looks like three main columns in all. Editor: Precisely. These sketches really feel like little portals, transporting the artist and the viewer through time, reminding us that even in fragmented forms, stories remain deeply entrenched within the symbols themselves. Curator: Absolutely. Even rough ideas are echoes of our shared human expression! Editor: A soft yet meaningful reflection for those who see in-between.