Brief aan Emanuel Van de Walle Possibly 1833 - 1838

This letter was penned by Charles Venneman in 1833. At first glance, it seems a simple missive, but look closer at the flourishes of the script, especially in Venneman’s signature— a concentrated form of the symbolic serpent. Consider the serpent, often linked with knowledge and transformation. Since ancient times, this motif has slithered through art and mythology. Think of the serpent in the Garden of Eden or the ouroboros, consuming its own tail, symbolizing cyclical regeneration. Venneman's looping signature unconsciously echoes this ancient symbol, a personal mark imbued with the potential for renewal and the cyclical nature of artistic creation and personal identity. The act of writing itself, transformed by each individual stroke, can be seen as a symbolic act of self-assertion. The image of the artist, imprinting his mark on the world, has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts.