Brief aan Christiaan Kramm Possibly 1859

This is a letter written with ink on paper by Alexander Schaepkens in Maastricht on July 17, 1859, addressed to Christiaan Kramm. It shows the personal networks that underpinned artistic and intellectual life in the Netherlands. Schaepkens, a painter and printmaker, expresses his gratitude to Kramm for sending him the first parts of his important work on Dutch and Flemish artists. Kramm was an art critic and writer. He was a member of several learned societies and an important figure in the cultural institutions of the Netherlands. Letters like this one offer us insights into the artistic dialogues of the time. The Rijksmuseum’s archives contain a wealth of letters and documents that help historians reconstruct the social world of 19th-century art. By studying these resources, we can understand the complex relationships between artists, critics, and institutions that shaped artistic taste and reputations.