Forest near Bagsværd Lake 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made this oil painting of the Forest near Bagsværd Lake with visible brushstrokes in shades of green, pink, and blue. I can imagine Stevns standing there, feeling the light filtering through the trees. The way he’s layered those colors, it’s like he’s not just painting what he sees but also how he feels. There’s a rawness to it, an immediacy. You can see the push and pull of the brush, the decisions he made in the moment. Look at that bold stroke of blue outlining a tree! It makes me think about other painters, like Bonnard or Vuillard, who were also trying to capture these fleeting moments of light and atmosphere. It’s like they’re all in conversation, these artists, across time and space, riffing off each other’s ideas. And that’s what makes painting so exciting. It’s not just about the finished product, it’s about the process, the journey, the conversation.