Brief aan Henriette Wilhelmina van Baak en Philip Zilcken Possibly 1921

This is a letter written by Anna Sologoub to Henriette Wilhelmina van Baak and Philip Zilcken on the 26th of December. Look closely at the way Sologoub's ink bleeds into the paper, the pressure she puts on her nib with each stroke. There’s something so intimate about handwriting, isn’t there? Here, the marks aren't just about information, they are about feelings. You can almost feel the weight of each word, the care and attention given to each loop and curve. The way the letters crowd together, eager to be read, tells a story all its own. Sologoub's letter reminds me of the expressionist movement, even though the content of the letter is simply about her husband's business. The rawness and the visible trace of the artist's hand connect it to the spirit of artists like Van Gogh, who similarly used gesture to convey deep emotion. Letters like this remind us that art is an ongoing conversation, a way of connecting with each other across time and space, and that ultimately, the meaning is in the eye of the beholder.