Kompositionsudkast til Blichers novelle "Vinhandleren og Herremanden", p. 201 - Kaj Lykke, Jens Bangs hustru og plejedatter færges over Limfjorden, notater 1932 - 1935

Editor: This is a compositional sketch by Niels Larsen Stevns from between 1932 and 1935. It's titled "Kompositionsudkast til Blichers novelle 'Vinhandleren og Herremanden', p. 201 - Kaj Lykke, Jens Bangs hustru og plejedatter færges over Limfjorden, notater." It’s done in pencil on paper and has a hurried, unfinished feel to it. How do you interpret this work, beyond its literal depiction? Curator: For me, this sketch offers a potent glimpse into the artist’s process, and it invites us to consider the act of translation - from Blicher's written word, rich with social commentary and regional dialect, into Stevns’ visual language. Consider the historical context: Blicher's novella likely critiqued class structures, and rural life. How might Stevns’s own social consciousness inform his choices in visualizing the crossing of the Limfjord? Editor: That’s interesting! So, the quick nature of the sketch, is that intentional? Curator: I think it absolutely speaks to intent, but it also evokes the precarity of these characters being ferried across. This isn't merely illustrating a story, it is engaging with social inequalities, visualizing the tensions embedded within the narrative through the deliberate act of sketching and re-sketching. What societal themes do you think Stevns might be addressing through this piece? Editor: I suppose the roughness could point to the everyday struggles of these people, it really makes you think about what their lives might have been like. Curator: Exactly! It highlights how artists can become activists by engaging and re-framing stories for a different audience. Thank you for prompting me to rethink this piece, especially in terms of how it speaks to class and power dynamics.