Brief aan Jan Veth Possibly 1918

This letter, written in Amsterdam, January 19, 1918, by Alphons Diepenbrock, is a swirl of cursive marks, grey ink on paper, words flowing like a musical score, and a physical manifestation of thought. Can't you just imagine him sitting at his desk, pen in hand, the nib scratching across the page, each stroke a little dance? I sympathize with Diepenbrock. The intimacy of handwriting, the way words are formed—they’re like little drawings, full of personality. Look at the way he loops his letters, the pressure he applies, it’s a performance of sorts. It reminds me of Cy Twombly's scribbles, or even the automatic writing of the Surrealists. I like to think of artists as being in a constant conversation, across time and space. Diepenbrock's letter is part of that dialogue, a gesture reaching out, connecting, inspiring. And like any good work of art, it invites us to bring our own interpretations, our own experiences to bear. It's a messy, beautiful process, full of ambiguity and possibility.