Brief aan Jérôme Alexander Sillem Possibly 1890 - 1892

Curator: So, what do you see? Editor: This is “Brief aan Jérôme Alexander Sillem” by August Allebé, likely from 1890 to 1892. It’s an ink drawing on paper, and it’s currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Looking at it, I’m struck by how personal and intimate it feels, despite just being…a letter. The handwriting is so fluid, and there's a rhythm to the lines that I find really appealing. It feels like you could almost trace the movement of the artist's hand as they wrote. What catches your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, August Allebé's world... It is indeed intimate! This isn't merely a document, it is a portal into the mind. I feel the frantic energy, almost hear the scratching of the pen on paper. He probably dashed this off without a second thought about posterity, yet here we are, decades later, pouring over every stroke. The letter itself, though utilitarian, transcends its function and almost becomes a landscape of the artist's mind. I wonder, do you get a sense of what sort of person Jérôme Alexander Sillem was, just from Allebé's tone? Editor: Hmm, it’s hard to say for sure. There's a sense of respect and perhaps even a bit of urgency in Allebé's tone. It makes me curious about their relationship. Was Sillem a patron, a friend, or perhaps a colleague? Curator: Precisely! That ambiguity is delicious, isn’t it? We're left to fill in the blanks with our imaginations. This piece embodies that very act, doesn't it? We are deciphering and then creating... What does that tell you? Editor: That it's up to the viewer to draw conclusions. I learned to approach the historical context to inform the dialogue with the artworks in our collection, but I must allow room for personal experiences. Thank you. Curator: You are more than welcome!