Studie efter August Saabyes H.C. Andersen-skulptur i Kongens Have, København 1930 - 1938

Niels Larsen Stevns created this sketch of August Saabye's H.C. Andersen sculpture using pencil, capturing a study in Kongens Have, Copenhagen. The artwork is dominated by an interplay of lines that create a sense of form and depth, despite the sketch's minimalist approach. Notice the confident, sweeping lines that delineate the sculpture's head, contrasted with the precise, parallel lines representing the statue's hat. These stark, rhythmic marks across the top offer both structure and repetition, grounding the dynamism of the scribbled head. Larsen Stevns invites us to observe not just the physical presence of Saabye’s sculpture, but its symbolic weight within the public space. By focusing on the hat and head, he uses synecdoche to represent the whole, allowing the part to signify the entirety of Andersen's identity and legacy. This choice may reflect a deeper engagement with how monuments function to represent and solidify cultural memory. Consider how the sketch invites us to meditate on the relationship between art, representation, and public memory.