Brief aan Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk 1877 - 1915

This letter to Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk, penned by Henri-Gabriel Ibels, serves not merely as a communication but as a conduit of symbolic gestures. In its lines, we find the 'cordiale poignée de main' – the cordial handshake – a motif resonant with centuries of human interaction. Consider the handshake, a practice stretching back to ancient Greece, depicted on funerary steles as a symbol of farewell and agreement. Here, Ibels revives this symbol, charging it with his personal intent. It transcends a mere greeting, embodying a contract, a bond between individuals within the vibrant artistic circles of the time. From ancient stone carvings to modern political stages, the handshake persists, a recurrent echo in the vast chamber of cultural memory. It oscillates in meaning – from truce to triumph, greeting to goodbye – each instance colored by the emotional undertones of its time. Ibels’ invocation of this age-old gesture taps into our collective subconscious, reminding us of the continuous, cyclical nature of human connection.