Kirkeinteriør 1919

G.V. Blom made this drawing of a church interior with pencil. Look at the columns rising up and up into arches. I wonder how many times he had to sharpen his pencil to get all those fine lines right. Drawing like this must be an act of devotion. Maybe for the artist the act of drawing itself was a prayer, repeating forms, making lines like repeating a mantra. I like the way the light falls in the background behind the crucifix like a divine glow. The light gives some drama and adds a sense of the sublime. Think about how the artist would have had to sit very still for many hours in the church, and imagine all the other artists who have been compelled to draw churches and cathedrals before and since. It’s like one big conversation through time.