Studie af H. C. Andersen efter maleri af Chr. Albr. von Benzon 1835. Farveangivelser 1930 - 1936

Niels Larsen Stevns made this study of H.C. Andersen with pencil on paper, and you can feel the delicate, searching lines building the form. It's like he’s feeling his way around the contours of Andersen’s face, trying to capture something essential. I wonder what Stevns was thinking as he made these marks? Maybe he was studying the original portrait, trying to unlock the secrets of Andersen's character. The light grey pencil strokes create a sort of ghostly presence; it reminds me how all art is, in a sense, a conversation with the past. You can see Stevns's notes alongside the sketch, little reminders about color and costume. It's fascinating how artists like Stevns engage with the work of others, filtering it through their own experiences. Painting and drawing becomes a way of understanding, not just replicating. Each stroke becomes an inquiry, a question posed to the past and a response offered to the future.