Brief aan Ary Johannes Lamme Possibly 1868 - 1869

This is a letter written in 1868 by the Dutch artist Bastiaan de Poorter to Ary Johannes Lamme. In it, de Poorter shares some biographical details in elegant cursive script. This kind of correspondence reveals the social networks that sustained artistic practice in 19th-century Netherlands. The institutions of art, such as academies, museums, and patrons, were all connected through these personal ties. This letter gives us a glimpse into those relationships and the way artists like de Poorter positioned themselves within a broader cultural landscape. The formal tone and careful handwriting also speak to the importance of social standing and reputation at the time. By studying archives and collections of letters like these, we can begin to understand the complex web of relationships that shaped artistic production and reception during this period, and how those relationships were maintained through textual forms.