Skitser af et skelet 1864 - 1941

Niels Larsen Stevns created this sketch of a skeleton on paper, though the exact date remains unknown. The composition divides the sheet into quadrants, with two sketches occupying the upper right and lower right sections, leaving the others bare. The upper sketch features a somewhat grotesque figure, possibly a skeleton. A mass of lines and shapes is piled on top of each other, suggesting a head. In the lower sketch a cluster of lines emanates from a central point. These lines, radiating outward, structure the image around a single core. The overall effect is one of fragmentation and incompleteness. The paper's folds emphasize the division of the pictorial space, disrupting any sense of a unified whole. The use of line, rather than solid forms, suggests a tentative exploration of form. These qualities combine to evoke an emotional state of uncertainty and transience. This is how the artist may have captured the essence of the human condition.