Brief aan Willem Bogtman Possibly 1922 - 1931

This is "Brief aan Willem Bogtman", made in 1922 by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst. It's a letter, right? I'm just thinking about the hand that made these looping marks. The artist is writing to someone, but it's more than just a message. It's a dance of thought and feeling, a kind of performance in ink. There’s a rhythm to the words. Do you see it too? I try to imagine what he must have been thinking when he wrote it. The material of the page, the nib of the pen, the pressure of hand. Each letter created with its own particular intention. Holst is like a jazz musician, improvising on the page, riffing on language, responding to the moment. It’s as though, he’s pulling thoughts out of the air, giving them shape and form with each stroke of the pen. We artists, we’re all in conversation, you know? Holst’s letter reminds us of the power of the hand, the intimacy of the written word, and the endless possibilities of expression. We can't pin it down. And that's the point.