Skitser af planter og anden ornamentik 1906

Here we have Niels Larsen Stevns’ sketchbook page, filled with plant studies and ornamentation. The page is bisected by the grid of the paper, against which the watercolors and graphite interact. I find the transparency of the watercolors especially interesting. They feel immediate, like a quick notation, as if the artist is trying to capture the essence of the plant’s form and color. Notice, for instance, how the colors bleed slightly beyond the outlines of the leaves at the top of the page? The effect is a softness that contrasts with the more deliberate quality of the graphite sketches. The interplay between the organic forms of the plants and the geometric shapes of the ornamentation below creates a nice tension. It’s not unlike the kind of back-and-forth that happens in the studio, when you’re trying to balance observation with invention. It reminds me a bit of Hilma af Klint, who also combined scientific observation with spiritual symbolism. This page is a great reminder that art is always an experiment, a process of discovery.