Brief aan Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk Possibly 1891

This is a letter written by Charles Rochussen in 1891 to Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk, a communication captured in ink on paper. The lines of handwriting themselves become symbols, each stroke a testament to the writer's thoughts and emotions. Consider the act of writing itself. The formation of letters—a practice dating back to ancient civilizations—serves as a conduit for thoughts, embodying the writer’s intentions and conveying the message across time and space. In ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, symbols were not merely representations of objects or ideas but were imbued with sacred power. Similarly, the act of writing, especially in personal correspondence, carries an emotional and psychological charge. We observe the cyclical recurrence of certain motifs and gestures across cultures, revealing the persistence of collective memory. The emotions evoked by this script—the intimacy of personal correspondence—engage viewers on a deep, subconscious level, triggering memories and associations. In the end, we are left to ponder the cyclical nature of symbols, resurfacing and evolving in different contexts, their meanings shifting yet eternally rooted in the depths of human experience.