Brief aan Isaac Israels Possibly 1921

This is a letter from Jan Veth to Isaac Israels, dating from November 1921, and penned in ink. It’s funny how handwriting can feel so intimate, so full of the writer's presence, even when you can't read the language. Look at the looping ascenders and the way the letters lean and huddle together. There's a rhythm to it, like a little dance across the page. Notice how the ink varies in density? Sometimes it’s bold and declarative, other times it’s like a whisper, barely there. It reminds me that writing, like painting, is a physical act. It is about pressure, speed, and the way the body moves. I love how the letter is creased and worn. It makes me think about art as a conversation across time. Jan Veth's work reminds me a bit of the writing of Vincent van Gogh, those famous letters to his brother Theo, except here we get the added level of artistic exchange, a meeting of minds and hands across the page. It’s beautiful, isn’t it, how a simple letter can hold so much.