Brief aan Antoon Derkinderen en aantekeningen 1874 - 1925

This letter, now held at the Rijksmuseum, was written by Jan Veth to Antoon Derkinderen. Ink on paper: a straightforward combination of materials, but one that held enormous social significance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Letters were the glue of intellectual life, circulating opinion and forging solidarity between artists. Veth was a critic as well as an artist, deeply invested in the social role of art. You can see that commitment in his handwriting. It’s fluent, but not especially elegant – his concern was communication, not calligraphic display. The letter is a fascinating artifact of the period, speaking volumes about the relationships between artists, and the way that correspondence served to bind the art world together. It reminds us that even the most rarefied aesthetic achievements are grounded in everyday acts of communication and care.