Brief aan Jan Veth Possibly 1902 - 1927

This letter, written by Antoon Derkinderen to Jan Veth in 1902, isn't just about what it says, but how it looks. The dense, looping script, rendered in dark ink on aged paper, speaks of intimacy and urgency. You can sense the pressure of the pen on the page, each stroke a thought taking shape. I find myself focusing on the dense middle paragraph where Derkinderen's sentences seems to run into one another, with only occasional commas breaking up the flow. It's almost as if the thoughts are tumbling out of him, onto the page, in a breathless rush. The energy reminds me of Cy Twombly, whose scribbled paintings evoke a similar sense of immediacy. Like Twombly, Derkinderen shows us that art isn't just about perfect execution, but about capturing the messy, unpredictable nature of thought itself. The letter is a reminder that art is always a conversation, a way of connecting with others across time and space through the power of the written word.