Tidstavle over H.C. Andersens liv 1866-1844 1930 - 1938

This handwritten page, “Timeline of H.C. Andersen’s Life 1866-1844,” was made sometime before his death in 1875. It looks like it was done by Niels Larsen Stevns. I wonder about the energy of the hand moving across the page, the scratching of the nib, the dark ink contrasting with the pale paper. I can see the way the handwriting leans in one direction, then another. It’s easy to imagine Stevns, hunched over, intensely focused, tracing the contours of Andersen's life. It’s so material, this timeline! Not just dates and places, but also the texture of the paper, the quality of the ink. It's reminiscent of other artists who use text as image—Cy Twombly comes to mind. It’s like Stevns is having a conversation with other artist throughout time. It reminds us that artists are always building on each other’s ideas, inspiring creativity across generations.