Motiv fra Karup. Storkene samler sig til rejsen. Solnedgangstid 1893 - 1917

Hans Smidth made this delicate drawing of storks gathering for their journey at Karup, using pen and ink, sometime before 1917. I imagine Smidth out there, watching the storks, feeling the cool air as the sun goes down, and then going back to his studio to create this very beautiful, almost meditative drawing. Look at the marks he makes. So precise, so intentional. You can almost see him thinking about each line, each dot, each tiny little stroke. The density of the marks describes the shadows and volume. It's like he's building the image, bit by bit. The texture of the stone wall, the soft grass, and the feathery clouds – it’s all there in the quality of the line. I'm thinking about other artists who worked in a similar way, like the landscape drawings of Hercules Segers or the visionary illustrations of William Blake. Artists, often working alone, inspiring each other across time. This image feels like a fleeting moment, captured and made permanent, but also timeless.