Pif! paf, lød det... 1928

Fritz Syberg made this drawing called ‘Pif! paf, lød det…’ with pen and ink. It’s all wiggly lines, like he’s trying to catch something quick and fleeting. I imagine Syberg out in the field, maybe it was chilly, trying to get it all down at once. It’s raw and immediate. A bunch of marks. A few trees, some birds taking off, and these little puffs of smoke. Did he see this, or did he imagine it? Are those hunters down there, or just tall grasses? You know, drawing like this is a kind of shorthand. It’s like he’s thinking out loud, making marks that stand for things, but they’re also just marks. It’s not about being perfect. It’s more like a feeling, an impression, the ‘idea’ of a flock of birds. That’s what I love about it. Syberg shows us how much you can do with a few lines.