Briefkaart aan jonkheer Hendrik Teding van Berkhout (1879-1969) before 1932

This postcard, made sometime in the first half of the twentieth century by Bernard Essers, it’s hard not to think about artmaking as a process when looking at this! It’s so clearly a working document, more notes than finished piece. The material reality of this artwork is all about the texture of the page and the handwritten text. It's not about hiding the process, but revealing it. You can almost feel the scratching of the pen on the paper as Essers jots down his thoughts. Look at the way he crosses out some of the titles, it's so immediate and direct. The writing veers from careful documentation to spontaneous annotations. It reminds me of Cy Twombly's notebooks - this messy energy that feels full of life and possibility. It's like the artwork is alive, still in the process of becoming. For me, that's what makes it so compelling.