Skitser af hunde 1905 - 1907

Editor: Here we have Niels Larsen Stevns' "Skitser af hunde," a pencil drawing from sometime between 1905 and 1907, currently residing at the SMK in Copenhagen. It looks so fleeting and captures the dog's movement so wonderfully. What do you see in this piece, beyond the obvious canine subject? Curator: Well, for me, it whispers of raw energy, doesn't it? It's almost as if the artist has caught a glimpse of the very essence of ‘dog-ness’—that mix of alertness and playful awkwardness. Look at the frantic scribbles, the way the form seems to both solidify and dissolve before your eyes! I wonder if it isn’t also Stevns exploring his own expressive boundaries here, testing the waters of abstraction perhaps? What do you think of that? Editor: I can see that, actually! The looseness, and how the lines sort of imply the shape instead of defining it precisely. I guess I just thought of it as unfinished. Curator: But isn’t there a certain magic *in* the unfinished? The drawing seems to breathe; it invites your eye – and your imagination – to participate in completing the form. The drawing also invites you to think about where that raw feeling could fit with society norms, and, frankly, what is it saying about him personally. Editor: That’s a really interesting way to put it! I never thought about "unfinished" in that way. I’ll definitely look at sketches differently from now on. Curator: Exactly! Perhaps every mark, even the hesitant ones, holds a universe of intention and potential. Editor: It is amazing how much a simple sketch can communicate. Curator: Absolutely, it’s a dance of hand, eye, and heart, captured in graphite on paper, it offers glimpses into how his feelings flow and affect others.