Brief aan Marisa Quanjer Possibly 1937

This handwritten letter to Marisa Quanjer was penned by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst in 1937. Imagine Holst, the pen in his hand scratching across the page, each word a deliberate stroke, carefully choosing the moment in which the pen touches the page and when to release it. You can almost hear the scratching sound as you look at the image. There is a rhythm in the handwriting that reveals Holst's mood and thoughts, echoing the act of painting itself. When writing a letter you leave a trace, a sort of emotional and intellectual mapping onto the page. Holst's writing is a form of embodied expression, where each word carries its own weight and energy. Think about the conversation between Holst and Quanjer. They are in their own private space, but by seeing the letter we are witness to their friendship, adding our own layers of interpretation to this intimate exchange. Artists are always talking to one another, even through something as simple as a letter.