Brief aan Floris Arntzenius before 1917

Curator: Welcome. Before us is “Brief aan Floris Arntzenius,” a drawing crafted by Jan Toorop. Dating from before 1917, this work now resides within the Rijksmuseum collection. Editor: My first impression? Direct. Unfiltered. There’s a raw energy in the lines themselves; a very tactile sense of the artist’s hand at work. It looks very much like a personal, perhaps urgent communication. Curator: It's fascinating to consider Toorop’s networks. This letter offers insight into the artistic exchanges of the time. Letters were such important carriers of information. We see that labor embodied here, too. Editor: Absolutely. This isn't just an idea; it’s ink painstakingly laid down by a hand, reflecting time and the availability, not only of ink but of a skilled writer capable of producing fluid pen work. The letter is a carefully crafted object itself. Curator: True, the material reality is vital. How often do we consider the social conditions surrounding artistic creation? Who had access to these materials, these networks? We should think about the historical weight of even a seemingly simple drawing like this one. Editor: Precisely. And it urges us to think about the conditions of communication itself. It also urges us to reconsider Toorop himself and his method; here we don't see such a high style; rather, something altogether much more intimate and revealing. Curator: Well, considering art’s public role, I feel this work provides unique access to Toorop’s mindset. It shrinks the distance between the artist and us. Editor: It's remarkable how studying the simple materials – the paper, the ink, the handwritten words - opens a whole social dimension within Toorop’s world. Curator: It does provide a valuable historical bridge to the early 20th century and a look at the inner workings of an artist’s world, however briefly. Editor: Indeed, a study of those connections illuminates everything. A fascinating document of art’s means.