Brief aan Jan Veth Possibly 1904 - 1919

This letter was handwritten by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst in 1904 in Laren. See how the ink bleeds into the fibres of the page, creating delicate dark halos around each looping letterform? Imagine the artist hunched over a desk, the nib of his pen scratching and sighing as he shares his thoughts. The letter is addressed to Jan Veth, and you get the feeling that Holst is in the middle of a really deep conversation with his friend. It’s like the written word becomes a portal to their shared world, filled with mutual understanding and intellectual sparks. I wonder what it was like to be part of their circle. Holst was a designer, lithographer, and a painter, he belonged to a later generation of artists, continuing the legacy of the Hague School, so you can imagine that he’s probably giving his friend tips on how to approach a piece of work, maybe some technical advice. There’s a timeless quality to this letter. It reminds me that artists are always talking to each other, across time and space, inspiring one another to experiment, question, and create.