Ornamentstudier 1900 - 1904

Niels Larsen Stevns made this pencil drawing, titled Ornamentstudier, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. We see studies of decorative motifs, rendered with precision. Let’s consider how this image creates meaning. The carefully drawn ornaments evoke the historicism popular at the time. We see forms drawn from both classical and medieval sources. Stevns was Danish, and in Denmark, as elsewhere, there was a drive to create a specifically national art. Artists and designers drew inspiration from the past, sometimes reaching as far back as the Viking era. The classical motifs may also be connected to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, which Stevns attended. Art historians turn to sources such as exhibition reviews, letters, and other archival documents to build up our understanding of the artist and the artwork. The meaning of art is contingent on such historical and institutional contexts.