Prentbriefkaart aan Willem Bogtman Possibly 1924

Editor: So, this is a postcard titled "Prentbriefkaart aan Willem Bogtman," possibly from 1924, by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, using pen and ink on paper. There's something very intimate about it, being a personal correspondence, but I can’t read what it says! What stands out to you about this piece? Curator: Ah, yes, postcards—the Tweets of their time! It seems Roland Holst dashed this off while visiting Paris. Notice how the formal printed text, "Les Belles Choses de France", contrasts with his own messy, swirling script. The stamps become little artworks themselves. I'm struck by that sense of immediacy and perhaps, a touch of yearning in the handwriting—a homesickness masked with the joys of seeing beautiful things? Don't you think? It almost feels as though he is sharing a secret with us. Editor: Yearning... I hadn't thought about that. The script does seem almost urgent. The choice to write on a card advertising "The Beautiful Things of France" – almost ironic then? Like he's trying to convince himself of that beauty? Curator: Perhaps! Or maybe he's commenting on the commercialization of art, even back then. Turning something inherently personal, like a handwritten note, into something… packaged. Either way, the raw and imperfect handwriting contrasts nicely with the slick advertising of the postcard itself, don’t you think? Editor: I do! Seeing the physical act of communication, penned directly, makes it feel incredibly present. Curator: Exactly. Despite being almost a century old, it still whispers a very human story. I always find the mundane and everyday lives behind the "Greats" endlessly compelling. Editor: Definitely gives me a new perspective to consider in the future! Thank you.