Brief aan de commissie van de Tentoonstelling van Levende Meesters in Den Haag Possibly 1861 - 1864

This is a letter penned by Kasparus Karsen in 1861, a plea to the committee of the Exhibition of Living Masters in The Hague. It reveals symbols of bureaucratic exchange, each word a carefully chosen token in a ritual of artistic recognition. Here, the formal script, laden with flourishes, echoes the chancery hands of medieval scribes. The plea itself – a dance of deference and self-assertion – mirrors the eternal artist’s struggle for acknowledgement, a motif as old as the cave paintings of Lascaux. Note the signature, a stylized stamp of identity reminiscent of ancient monograms, yet here, it is fraught with the anxiety of acceptance. Consider the cyclical nature of artistic appeal, a pattern deeply embedded in our collective memory. Each generation seeks validation, revisiting the same archetypal dramas of ambition and doubt. This letter is not merely a document; it is a mirror reflecting the timeless, universal desire to leave one’s mark on the world.