Brief aan onbekend Possibly 1919

This is "Brief aan onbekend," or "Letter to Unknown" by Jan Veth, now in the Rijksmuseum. The visual structure of this letter is dominated by the interplay of handwritten text against the aged paper. The script, rendered in a dark ink, creates a dense network of lines and curves, a texture almost as tactile as it is visual. The letterform itself becomes a study in semiotics. The writing, its style, and even the paper's yellowed tone are all signs. They point not only to the content of the letter but also to a specific historical context and the writer’s personality. There is a tension between the personal and the formal, the private thoughts made public through this very display. The act of writing becomes a form of artistic expression. It destabilizes the fixed meanings of written communication, inviting us to consider the aesthetic and cultural codes embedded within something as simple as a handwritten letter. Consider how this everyday correspondence offers new perspectives on intimacy, history, and the very nature of art itself.