Brief aan Jan Veth Possibly 1900 - 1915

This letter to Jan Veth was made in Amsterdam in 1900, and what strikes me is how the artist’s hand moves across the page. It's not just about the information being conveyed, but the sheer physical act of writing. The ink bleeds slightly into the paper, creating these fuzzy edges around the letters. It reminds me of how paint can bloom on a canvas, how the material itself has a say in the final outcome. Notice the loops and swirls, the way the lines thicken and thin. It’s like a dance, a rhythm that emerges from the flow of thought. There’s this one spot, towards the bottom left, where the ink seems to have pooled, creating a dark, almost abstract mark. It's a small detail, but it speaks volumes about the process, the imperfections that make it real. Thinking about other artists, Cy Twombly comes to mind, in the way that he embraces chance and gesture. This letter, in its own way, does the same, reminding us that art is as much about what happens as what's intended.