Figur- og kompositionsskitser 1879 - 1910

Editor: Here we have “Figur- og kompositionsskitser” created between 1879 and 1910 by Oluf Hartmann, currently housed at the SMK in Copenhagen. It looks like a collection of ideas jotted down, a mix of ink and pencil sketches. I'm intrigued by how unfinished it feels. What do you see in this piece that perhaps I’m missing? Curator: Well, that “unfinished” quality, as you call it, is precisely what sings to me! It's a glimpse into the artist's mind, like leafing through their personal journal. I see Hartmann wrestling with form and composition. There's this tension between the academic art style, you know, striving for realism, and these wonderfully loose, almost frantic lines that hint at something much wilder. Tell me, does that large form on the right evoke anything specific? Editor: It reminds me a bit of a draped statue or maybe even a shrouded figure, but it's hard to tell. Is that intentional ambiguity, or is it simply a byproduct of the sketching process? Curator: Ah, good question! I think it's a bit of both. The ambiguity allows Hartmann to explore multiple possibilities at once, to capture the essence of the figure without getting bogged down in detail. I can almost feel his hand moving across the page, searching, questioning. And isn't there something profoundly human in that search itself? Editor: Absolutely! It's like witnessing the birth of an idea. It also makes me appreciate the finished artworks so much more, seeing the steps and uncertainty to creating a statue. Curator: Exactly! It is like tracing the roots of a tree, finding sustenance. I love how we get a small peek behind the scenes here. Editor: I agree!