Brief aan Andries Bonger Possibly 1909

This letter, penned by Émile Bernard in 1900, is a fascinating document. Though seemingly simple, the act of writing itself is rich with symbolic weight. Consider the hand, the instrument of creation, guiding the pen across the page. Since antiquity, the hand has been a potent symbol of skill, power, and divine intervention. We see it echoed in the raised hands of orant figures in early Christian art, beseeching the heavens. Even in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the hand signifies action and agency. But here, the hand is unseen, its presence implied by the very marks it leaves behind. It reminds us of the power of the written word to transcend time and space, carrying the author's thoughts and emotions to future readers. It is a silent dialogue, an intimate exchange between souls, hinting at profound depths of human connection and collective memory. The act of writing becomes an act of preservation, a reaching out across the ages.