Skeletter af kat og fugl 1864 - 1941

Editor: This is Niels Larsen Stevns' drawing, "Skeletter af kat og fugl," made sometime between 1864 and 1941 using pencil and colored pencil on paper. It's striking how vulnerable these creatures appear in skeletal form. What symbolic meaning do you think these animals held for Stevns? Curator: Looking at these carefully rendered skeletons, I am drawn to the persistent symbolism they represent. We instinctively interpret a skeleton as representing mortality, the end, but consider how pervasive animal symbols are in folklore. Editor: So you think that seeing both as skeletons helps us consider that? Curator: Precisely. Here we see the Cat – its skeleton a symbol, since Medieval times, associated with both domesticity and wild independence – contrasted with that of the Bird, frequently representing freedom, the soul’s journey, spiritual transcendence. How does that symbolism manifest when presented this way? Editor: So stripping them down to their skeletal forms… kind of equalizes them? It emphasizes their shared mortality, but maybe also strips away their symbolic power. Curator: A compelling point. Are we confronting vanitas symbols reminding us of life's brevity? Or does it push us toward broader concepts – the delicate balance within nature's food chain, a memento mori for our era? Or could these precise, anatomical drawings simply speak of scientific inquiry, rather than emotional reflection? Editor: I hadn't considered that. I was so caught up in the emotional reading of the piece. Curator: Symbols evolve, shift meanings based on who is looking, when they look, and *where*. Always keep an eye out. Editor: I will, thank you! This really shed some light on what could have been simple scientific study.