Brief aan Ina van Eibergen Santhagens-Waller c. 1878 - 1938

This is a letter, undated, by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst. The eye is drawn immediately to the dense, handwritten text covering almost the entire page, an intimate and expressive outpouring of thought and emotion. The form itself is revealing. The absence of strict formatting, with lines flowing organically across the page, indicates a stream-of-consciousness style. The handwriting, with its unique rhythm and pressure, becomes a direct trace of the artist's presence. The materiality of the letter – the paper, the ink – emphasizes the physical act of communication, the tangible connection between writer and recipient. This raw, unfiltered form suggests a challenge to established modes of formal correspondence, offering instead a deeply personal and immediate form of connection. It destabilizes conventional expectations of structure and neatness. This emphasis on direct, unmediated expression invites us to consider how art can disrupt and redefine traditional forms of communication.