Skitser af søjler med buster og gravsten, samt notat 1906

Niels Larsen Stevns made this sketch of columns, busts, and gravestones, with pencil on paper. I imagine him with a sketchbook in a graveyard, quickly jotting down ideas. There’s a tentative quality to these marks, as he’s searching for form. The vertical lines of the columns have a directness, while the busts at the top are more gestural and unresolved. I wonder, what was he trying to capture? Was it the monumentality of these structures, or the human presence they commemorate? The inscription on the column adds another layer of meaning. It is like a note to himself. Perhaps he was considering a synthesis between architecture and personal reflection. As a painter, I know that this kind of sketch is where everything starts. It's about artists talking to one another across time, and I am sure Stevns would have been inspired by other artists who explored similar themes. It all goes into the mix. Painting is about embracing uncertainty. There is always something to be found.