Brief aan Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk Possibly 1916

This letter to Pieter Haverkorn van Rijsewijk was written by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst in Laren, in 1916. Just imagine the quill in his hand as he carefully inked each stroke, the nib scratching against the paper, a delicate dance of intention and chance. I can almost feel him pausing, mulling over each word, crafting his thoughts with the precision of a painter mixing colors on a palette. It is so personal, isn’t it? He seems to be offering Rijsewijk an artwork he made of the studio of the painter, Jan Veth. Perhaps the light in his studio reminded Holst of his own space, the silent conversations he has with his work as he paints. In a way, artists have always been writing letters to each other through their art, a constant exchange of ideas across time. Each gesture in this letter echoes with the history of art, carrying whispers of past masters and hinting at future possibilities. It’s a beautiful reminder that art, like life, is an ongoing conversation.