Skitser af genstand 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made this sketch of an object using pencil on paper, without a fixed date. The act of sketching, you know, it's like thinking with your hand. Here, Stevns isn't trying to show off some kind of fancy technique. The marks are tentative, searching. It's all about the process, the unfolding of an idea. Look at the varied pressure of the pencil, how some lines are dark and certain, while others are light and almost disappear into the page. See how the cross-hatching gives weight to the object, while the rest is just a suggestion of form. It feels like the artist is working things out as he goes. This reminds me a bit of late Cezanne, that same sense of open form and unfinished business. It’s like Stevns is saying, "Here's what I see, but it's up to you to complete the picture." That's what makes art so endlessly fascinating—it's always a conversation.