Brief aan Cornelis Gerardus 't Hooft Possibly 1919

This is a letter to Cornelis Gerardus 't Hooft made in 1919 by Jan Veth, I imagine, with a pen. Looking at the pressure of the ink on the page, the loops and tight curves of the lettering, the neat but hurried handwriting, it feels like Veth is caught up in the act of writing. Each letter is formed with care and attention. The list-like quality of the letter, with its names and numbers, gives it a functional quality, like a receipt or invoice. And yet, the letter is addressed to someone, so it becomes personal too. I wonder what that tension does to the way we read and understand it. It’s like the work of Agnes Martin, a grid that becomes a diary entry. There's an immediacy to the marks, like you can see the hand that made them. The contrast of the dark ink against the off-white page makes the writing pop and helps bring you closer to the act of writing, the physical action of the pen across the page. It's like the art of the letter is in the making of it, the process, rather than the content.