Brief aan Marisa Quanjer Possibly 1937

This is a letter to Marisa Quanjer, written in 1937 by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst. It’s hard to make out the words, but I can see the energy in the script, the way the ink flows and pools. Imagine Holst sitting down, pen in hand, maybe a little distracted, thinking about what to say, what to share. You know, writing is like drawing, a way of thinking aloud, each stroke a gesture, a feeling made visible. He’s chatting, and that’s what I find so beautiful about letters. It is a quiet work but it speaks to me of artmaking as a form of friendship, and conversation. I imagine Holst might have been thinking about how writing is a way to reach out, to connect. Artists are always in conversation, riffing off each other's ideas, keeping the energy alive.