Studier af fugle 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made these Studies of Birds in no specific year, with what looks like pencil in a sketchbook. I love seeing sketches like these; you know, the kind of thing an artist does to warm up, or to just get an idea down quickly. The lines are so light and airy, almost like he’s trying to capture the birds in mid-flight with just a few strokes. You can almost feel the movement of the birds. The paper itself is so interesting too, with its yellowing tone and the little flecks of age. It gives the drawings a sense of history, like they've been waiting for us to discover them. I notice how the sketch of the wing in the center spreads across the page, with delicate marks that capture every detail of its form. It makes me think of other artists like Leonardo da Vinci, who were also fascinated by the natural world and used drawing to understand it better. Ultimately, art is all about exploring and experimenting, and these Studies of Birds are a beautiful reminder of that.