Brief aan Ary Johannes Lamme Possibly 1861 - 1868

Curator: Here at the Rijksmuseum, we have a letter by Petrus Johannes Schotel, likely written between 1861 and 1868. It’s titled “Brief aan Ary Johannes Lamme.” What are your initial thoughts? Editor: It appears to be ink on paper, possibly printed in parts—the consistent strokes seem to indicate it. Its overall effect, even without understanding the Dutch text, communicates something formal and official given the structure of a carefully scripted letter. Curator: From a formal standpoint, the tight, regimented lines create a visual rhythm. The density of the ink against the starkness of the paper emphasizes the importance of the correspondence. We could say the structure reflects a deliberate attempt to create a powerful document. Editor: Exactly, but what of the process? Look at the evenness of the ink distribution. Was it truly freehand? If sections were typeset, what labor was involved in composing and reproducing it so precisely? How was paper being used? Such paper shows us its ready availability due to mechanisation but the script fights against its own obsolescence in doing so. Curator: Indeed. Its materiality also has a significant impact. The absorbency of the paper influences how the ink bleeds and sets, changing the perceived thickness and shape of each character. It's almost sculptural in that way. The pressure exerted affects line width which affects legibility - we see all those choices. Editor: The very act of writing as a skilled hand-craft rather than impersonal standard text as print has been, suggests a certain type of connection here between writer and addressee. To see something personal painstakingly produced is important to observe in an ever expanding and less and less skilled industry of writing. It makes you wonder what the context was that this object might bridge in this new emerging context. Curator: Analyzing both the structure of the letter and the tactile impression it evokes allows us to appreciate the depth of communication. Thank you for helping me understand this artwork. Editor: A fruitful material exchange which throws new perspectives on how this object represents labor, the material world, and our engagement within.