Brief aan jonkheer Hendrik Teding van Berkhout (1879-1969) 1908 - 1934

Emilius Wilhelmus Dehé wrote this letter to Jonkheer Hendrik Teding van Berkhout at an unknown date, using ink on paper. I love looking at handwriting, don't you? It's so personal. You can really see the hand, the pressure, the speed. And you can feel a little of the person behind it. Dehé’s script is so neat, with these elegant, looping forms. The letters seem to dance across the page. The red ink at the top is interesting too. A bold splash of colour in an otherwise monochrome composition. It almost looks like a correction or an afterthought, like a painter adding a final touch of red to their canvas. It reminds me of Cy Twombly, especially his use of handwritten text and vibrant colour. I’m always drawn to the way he layered his marks and gestures, leaving these fascinating palimpsests on the canvas. In the end, like all art, a letter is a form of communication that remains delightfully open to interpretation.