Brief aan Andries Bonger before 1897

This is "Brief aan Andries Bonger," a letter by Emile Bernard, though the exact date remains unknown. The letter confronts us with a field of script, a dense configuration of lines and loops rendered in dark ink against the textured backdrop of the paper. This creates a visual rhythm and establishes a palpable tension between legibility and abstraction. The script itself forms a network of signs, where each word and phrase acts as a signifier, alluding to the contents of the letter. Bernard's handwriting— its pressure, rhythm, and character, becomes a visual echo of his state of mind. The structure of the letter destabilizes traditional forms of communication, transforming personal correspondence into a complex interplay of text and texture. The materiality of the letter—the paper, the ink, and the physical act of writing—imbues it with a sense of immediacy and presence. These formal qualities invite us to look beyond its literal content and instead consider it as a site of ongoing interpretation and re-interpretation.