Brief aan Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk Possibly 1900 - 1911

This letter was written in Amsterdam on March 11th, 1900, by George Hendrik Breitner. The ink, faded with time, tells its own story—each stroke, a deliberate dance of pressure and release, like a calligrapher in deep thought. Look at the way the text almost fades into the paper, creating a delicate texture. The lines of the page peek through, grounding the words. It's as if Breitner is sharing a confidence, not just conveying information. I can see his process of thinking, the way his thoughts evolved as the words flowed from the pen. It reminds me of how I approach painting, each layer informing the next, building a history on the canvas. The slant of the handwriting, the way some letters loop and others are sharp, speaks volumes. It's an intimate record of a moment, of one artist reaching out to another. For me, this letter isn't just a document, it's a work of art in itself, reminiscent of Van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo. The history of art is carried in these exchanges, so intimate and personal.