Brief aan Willem Bogtman

This letter by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, from 1924, is a great example of how art can be found in the everyday, even in our correspondence. Look at the way he forms his letters, the way the ink bleeds slightly into the page. The text has a really tactile quality, doesn't it? You can almost feel the nib of the pen scratching across the surface. Notice how the lines of text curve and undulate, creating a rhythm across the page, with some words pressed harder than others. Look at the flourish he uses to sign off, it’s almost calligraphic. The whole thing feels deeply personal and immediate, which really speaks to me. It reminds me a bit of Cy Twombly’s scrawls. Both artists use text to create a sense of intimacy and immediacy, inviting us into their worlds. We can appreciate how artmaking doesn’t just have to be about high concepts and grand gestures; it can be about capturing a moment, an idea, or a feeling.