Skitse af ansigter. Forarbejder eller studier efter forlæg? Skitse af trane 1900 - 1905

This sketchbook page of faces and a crane, was made by Niels Larsen Stevns sometime between 1864 and 1941 with a pencil on paper. It's all about the process, right? You can see the artist working through ideas, trying out different angles and expressions, with lines that are tentative and searching. The texture of the paper, you can almost feel it, and the way the pencil marks vary in darkness and pressure - it's like a little map of the artist's thoughts. There's one face in the bottom right corner that's barely there, just a few faint lines, and next to it this almost ghostly hand. It's a reminder that art is often about what's left out, what's suggested rather than stated. Stevns reminds me of the German Expressionist, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, with the raw, urgent quality of his line. It’s like they're both trying to capture something fleeting, something that can't be pinned down. And that's what makes art so exciting, it's always moving, always changing.