Brief aan Frans Erens

This is a letter written by Jan Toorop to Frans Erens on February 19, 1919, in the Netherlands. The ink is flowing, and you can see the movement in the looping letters. The color is consistent across the page, giving the impression of words tumbling out of the artist's mind and directly onto the paper. It’s a real testament to artmaking as a process. The writing has a texture because the ink bleeds a little into the page. The letters lean and join up with one another, like gossiping neighbours. It almost feels like code, as if secrets are being shared. Look at the way the artist signs his name at the bottom; it is like a flourish, a final mark to state his intention. There’s something about seeing an artist’s handwriting that makes you feel connected to them. You could think about other artists who wrote letters, like Van Gogh, to understand art as an ongoing conversation across time. Art embraces many meanings, and seeing this letter makes you consider the relationship between text and artmaking.