Brief aan Willem Bogtman 1923

This is ‘Brief aan Willem Bogtman’ by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst, a letter dashed off, it seems, with graphite on paper. Look at that pale grey, almost disappearing into the cream of the page! I think about the artist hunched over his desk, scratching out these words, maybe in a hurry, or maybe just in that zone where thoughts flow directly from brain to hand. You can almost feel him pausing, pen hovering, as he decides on the next phrase. It’s like eavesdropping on a thought process, intimate and immediate. It reminds me that art isn’t just about grand statements or finished products; it's about the small, everyday gestures that capture something real. This letter, with its casual, almost ephemeral quality, feels like a little window into the artist’s world, and it makes me wonder about the conversation he’s having, the relationships he’s navigating. It’s a reminder that artists are always talking to each other, across time and space, inspiring and challenging one another.