Brief aan Jan Veth Possibly 1904 - 1919

Wally Moes wrote this letter to Jan Veth with ink on paper, back in 1904. Look closely at the handwriting, how each letter is formed with a kind of elegant urgency. To me, the writing itself becomes a kind of drawing, a series of marks that capture the rhythm and energy of Moes' thoughts. I love how the ink varies in tone, sometimes dark and bold, other times fading to a delicate whisper. You can almost feel the pressure of the pen on the page, the way it glides and stutters, creating a texture that's both smooth and slightly rough. Notice how some words are emphasized with a heavier hand, while others seem to float lightly across the surface. It makes you wonder what Moes was feeling as she wrote, what thoughts were weighing heavily on her mind. Thinking about other artists who used text in their works, Cy Twombly comes to mind. He also saw handwriting as a form of drawing, using it to create these layered, evocative compositions. Art is just this big, ongoing conversation, right? A back and forth of ideas across time. Anyway, I think art is at its best when it invites us to ask questions, rather than giving us all the answers, don’t you?