Landskab med en allé 1902 - 1903

Niels Larsen Stevns made this sketch called Landskab med en allé with graphite on paper, but when, well, who knows? I love how the marks in the foreground mimic the tonal range in the sky – it’s all about movement and flow, you know? The density of the graphite creates these wonderful dark and light patches. It's almost like he’s tuning into the landscape, not just copying it. Look at the way the graphite is layered and rubbed, it feels so intuitive, like he’s feeling his way through the scene. The sky almost has this smudgy, dreamy feel, as if he’s trying to capture something fleeting. It puts me in mind of Odilon Redon's charcoal drawings, this sense of quiet contemplation. Anyway, that's what I see.