Studier af fugle, formentlig efter forlæg 1932 - 1935

Niels Larsen Stevns made these Studies of Birds, probably from models, with pencil on paper. Look at those gestural marks, the repetition of lines, the scratching and hatching – it’s like he’s feeling around for the bird, trying to catch it, not just as a visual likeness, but as an idea, a spirit, something flighty and hard to pin down. I imagine him standing at his easel, squinting and pondering, trying to reconcile what he sees with what he knows, his hand moving tentatively, then boldly, then tentatively again. The circle is so dynamic, so full of energy, and is in contrast to the still bird. It reminds me of other artists who studied nature with such intensity, like Dürer with his hare or Leonardo with his anatomical drawings, but also of Cy Twombly, who tried to evoke classical forms through gesture. It's all part of an ongoing conversation, this exchange of ideas across time, where we inspire each other to keep creating.