Brief aan Jan Ponstijn Possibly 1926

This is “Brief aan Jan Ponstijn,” a note made by Leo Gestel, probably in the 1920s, with ink on paper. It’s so cool to see an artist's handwriting, isn't it? Imagine Gestel hunched over this piece of paper, maybe in a Parisian café, the nib of his pen scratching across the surface. He’s writing a letter, but it’s more than just words—it's a record of thoughts, a snapshot of a moment in time. The handwriting has a rhythm and energy, swirling and looping, creating this sense of immediacy. You see how the dark ink contrasts with the pale paper, adding to the graphic quality of the note, giving it texture and depth. The letter gives you a sense of the artist himself, and his lived experience and inner thoughts. When we read the letters of artists, we are in a way reading art history backwards. This is how artists converse with each other across time, leaving traces of their thoughts and processes for us to find and be inspired by.