Brief aan Willem Bogtman Possibly 1939

This letter, dated February 3, 1939, was written by the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten to Heer W. Bogtman. Look at the typewriter font; each letter is carefully imprinted, a testament to a slower, more deliberate form of communication. It reminds me of how every brushstroke is a decision, a mark of intention. What strikes me about this document is its physicality. The texture of the paper, its slight imperfections, tell a story of touch and time. The ink, dark and formal, contrasts with the personal, almost intimate, handwriting of the signature. That single, sweeping line beneath the signature—is it a flourish, a declaration, or simply a practical underscore? It’s in this tension between the official and the individual where the letter finds its resonance. Think of how artists like Cy Twombly embraced the gesture of handwriting in their paintings, elevating the everyday mark to art. This letter, in its own way, does something similar. It makes me think about art as this ongoing conversation across time, of shared humanity.