Briefkaart aan Ab Bogtman before 1935

Curator: Before us, we have "Briefkaart aan Ab Bogtman," a piece created by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, sometime before 1935. It's an ink drawing on paper. Editor: Oh, how intimate! It looks like someone's private little visual diary—scribbles and calligraphy colliding on this aged card. The off-white tone of the paper just amplifies that feeling. Curator: Precisely. The intimacy emerges from the artwork's function, which, as its title states, is a postcard to Ab Bogtman, but more specifically in the handwritten note, with a post stamp affixed, which makes the personal nature of the art even more accessible. Editor: The way he layers the script, some words heavier, some lighter... it creates such a musical rhythm. Look at how the strokes dance and lean, as if confiding secrets. Do you read what is says? It reminds me of childhood when everything was art and communicating had an innocence about it. Curator: From a formal standpoint, Holst's command of line is apparent. Each stroke contributes to an overall balance. Notice, the disposition of elements across the picture plane seems spontaneous, yet carefully considered with calligraphic strokes. Editor: It feels unfinished, raw—more a thought in transit than a polished statement. That stamp anchors it in time. To me, there’s beauty in the imperfections, you know? Like life, all messy edges. Curator: Indeed. The choice of simple materials elevates its expressiveness. And note, too, the textural contrast between the dense ink and the relatively smooth surface of the paper, adding depth despite the small scale. Editor: This postcard almost makes me want to resist the sterile perfection of modern digital art and communication, doesn’t it? Like picking up a fountain pen again... feeling the ink flow, that direct, analogue connection to thought. Curator: Holst has definitely given us a captivating interplay of text, medium and personal gesture. We can consider its aesthetic impact to offer insight into a world of humanistic nuance, one gesture at a time. Editor: It just feels good to observe a mind at play, really, even after all these years. You begin to piece a message together like clues found between calligraphy. It makes me think…What messages are our texts sending through time?