Brief aan jonkheer Marinus Bonifacius Willem Dittlinger

This letter to Jonkheer Marinus Bonifacius Willem Dittlinger was written in Amsterdam in 1924 by Jan Veth. It’s amazing to see the artist's hand so directly, like you are looking at their thought process as it unfurls onto the page. The ink is dark, but the pressure is light, creating a delicate, almost ephemeral feel. Look at how the lines vary in thickness, sometimes scratchy, sometimes smooth, giving the handwriting a real sense of movement and energy. There is a rhythm to the composition that reminds me of Cy Twombly’s scribbled drawings. It’s like the words are dancing on the page. The texture of the paper itself, with its rough edges and slightly yellowed tone, adds another layer of intimacy. You can almost feel the artist holding the page, the pen gliding across the surface. To me, it feels like a reminder that art is, at its heart, a human endeavor, full of imperfections and quirks, just like us.