Brief aan Pieter Verloren van Themaat Possibly 1865

This is “Brief aan Pieter Verloren van Themaat,” a letter penned in 1865 by Marinus Jacobus Stucki to a Mr. P. Verloren van Themaat, Secretary of the ‘Kunstliefde’ in Utrecht. Stucki writes with a mixture of gratitude and disappointment. Thanking Verloren van Themaat for returning the portfolio on behalf of the board, he notes the inclusion of a drawing worth twenty guilders. Yet, there's a lament, a quiet frustration that those with the means lack the "Kooplust" - the desire to buy. The letter offers a glimpse into the 19th-century Dutch art world, revealing a society where artistic appreciation and financial backing didn't always align. Stucki's words evoke a sense of the artist's dependence on the patronage system and the emotional toll of creating in a market-driven world. It prompts us to consider how class and economic structures influence artistic creation and reception.