Briefkaart aan Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk Possibly 1906

This briefkaart, or postcard, was sent to Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk by Jozef Israëls in 1905. Look at the gesture of the handwriting! Imagine Israëls, perhaps jotting this down in a hurry, the pen dancing across the surface. It's like he's sketching with words. Those looping ascenders and descenders, the way the letters huddle together, all speak to the artist’s hand, his intention. It's the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals leaping into the twentieth century. I wonder if he knew that, one day, his quick note would be scrutinized in a museum. Did he think about the flow of time? Maybe artists don't think like that, they just speak to each other across the ages, trading inspiration and keeping the conversation alive. A simple postcard becomes more than just a message; it’s a trace of a life, a little painting in itself.