Brief aan anoniem Possibly 1875

Curator: What we have here is “Brief aan anoniem”, or “Letter to Anonymous”, possibly from 1875 by Johannes Pieter van Wisselingh, housed right here at the Rijksmuseum. It's ink on paper. Editor: Oh, immediately striking. It’s stark, precise. Not quite calligraphy, but with this real sense of measured beauty—like a musical score rendered in words instead of notes. Curator: In a way, that’s spot on! It is a pricing list of sorts for the artist's works, but instead of prices on groceries, he has listed studies, drawings, and views with their respective costs. Sort of an advertisement? Editor: Perhaps! Consider the act of commissioning art at the time. It's interesting that such a transactional piece, potentially a business letter, could be seen in the collection today, right? What does that choice to collect this particular work say about art history? Curator: Right? The institutional validation is thought-provoking! It prompts us to reflect on the value we assign to the artifacts that are left for us to collect. Editor: Precisely! Is this a glimpse into the mundane commerce that supported artistic practice, or is there also an intention to portray beauty inherent even within ordinary records? This idea about how institutions can change how we engage with objects! Curator: The writing does have a rather pleasing, artful quality of pen work... look at how neatly the line of text is rendered. Not simply an effective ledger. This would look beautiful framed. Editor: I'm now looking at it differently! Beyond its original purpose, you now can appreciate its aesthetic values through our lens. We look back at the objects differently. Curator: Yes, the cultural narrative changes our understanding of something so simple. I keep thinking how this document carries ghosts, secrets and unspoken communications, just as the brushstrokes of a landscape do. Editor: Ultimately, that interaction between us and this brief transactional piece that holds deeper meanings really shows how both institutions and individuals continuously remake history!