Prentbriefkaart aan Anne Marie Louise van der Linden before 1909

This is an interesting little piece of ephemera, a postcard penned by Emile Bernard at the turn of the century, around 1908. I wonder what Bernard was doing? Who was he writing to, and what was he thinking? Was it a casual note dashed off amidst a flurry of activity, or a carefully considered missive meant to convey something specific? Look at the script. See how the looping forms suggest a kind of quick, fluid movement? I can imagine Bernard’s hand gliding across the surface of the paper. And the stamps! They mark time, and a certain kind of bureaucratic language. There is so much humanity contained within these gestures and markings. As artists, we are often in dialogue with one another across time and space. Bernard's postcard feels like a whisper from the past, an invitation to contemplate the simple act of communication and connection.