Brief aan Felicien Bobeldijk

Here is a letter written in 1915 by Jac van Looij to Felicien Bobeldijk, using ink on paper. It’s all about the hand, isn’t it? The way the ink soaks into the page, and how the pressure of the pen changes the width of the line. You can almost feel van Looij’s hand moving across the page, each stroke telling a story. The words themselves, like painted marks, have a rhythm. Notice how the lines dance and weave, each word leaning into the next. The loops and crossings feel so intimate, so personal, like the artist is whispering directly to you. The signature at the bottom with the date almost feels like another little drawing, doesn’t it? A final flourish to seal the message. For me, this piece speaks to the power of simple materials and the beauty of the everyday. Think about the letters of Cy Twombly; how his handwriting became his art. Artmaking is an ongoing conversation, a dance between intention and accident, and van Looij’s letter is a beautiful example of this.