Brief aan Jan Kalff Possibly 1905 - 1930

This is a letter written by Jan Veth to Jan Kalff Jr. from 1905. It’s not a painting, but a letter; the written word in black ink on off-white paper is its own kind of drawing, a portrait of a mind at work. I can just imagine Veth hunched over his desk, pen in hand, the scratching of the nib a rhythm accompanying his thoughts. He's grappling with the push-and-pull between commissions and his own artistic desires. You get the sense he’s a bit conflicted, right? Like, he *can* do these portraits, but what he *really* wants is to be painting, to be making his own choices. I think many artists feel this tug-of-war, between what pays the bills and what feeds the soul. There’s a real generosity in how Veth talks about his process, too, laying bare his anxieties and ambitions. He hopes that by doing the commissions, it will allow him to have the time and money to pursue his own artistic goals. It’s just like that saying "you reap what you sow.” We all do it, don’t we? The hustle, the compromises, the hope that it all adds up to something meaningful in the end.