Uidentificeret dyrestudie 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns made this study of an unidentified animal with a pencil on paper. The lines are so light, just barely there; they are almost like whispers. I can imagine the artist, poised with pencil in hand, observing the animal intently. There is a tenderness to the lines, a delicate searching for form. Was it a fleeting glimpse, a quick sketch to capture the essence of the creature before it disappeared? What was the animal like? What was it doing? What sounds did it make? I think of other artists who have studied animals – Dürer with his hare, Stubbs with his horses, or even Cy Twombly’s gestural marks. Artists are in an ongoing conversation, exchanging ideas across time. The way they translate the world through their unique lens is so special. Each touch, each mark, holds a trace of the artist's encounter with the world.