Brief aan Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk Possibly 1896

This is a letter from George Hendrik Breitner to Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk, written on July 6th, 1896. The letter itself, like so much art, is now an artifact preserved by an institution, the Rijksmuseum. What might a letter from one artist to another tell us about the social conditions of artistic production at the end of the 19th century in the Netherlands? Who was Breitner writing to, and why? What kind of exhibition is he referring to, and what role does he play in it? By consulting archival sources, like letters and exhibition catalogues, the historian can begin to reconstruct the network of relationships and institutions that make art possible. The meaning of a work of art is contingent on such social and institutional contexts.