Brief aan Héloïse Bernard-Bodin 1878 - 1941

This handwritten letter by Emile Bernard looks like it was probably composed with ink on paper, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. I can almost see the artist hunched over his desk, the quill scratching across the page, each word a deliberate stroke. The text cascades down the page, guided by the lines of the grid. It's easy to imagine Bernard pausing between thoughts, perhaps gazing out the window for inspiration, before returning to his writing. The purple ink adds a touch of formality to the letter, underscoring the deep affection conveyed. The letter reminds me of the work of Cy Twombly. Like Twombly, Bernard transforms writing into a form of art, conveying meaning through both the words themselves and the act of mark-making. It is a form of embodied expression, where the artist's thoughts and emotions become visible in the gestures of the hand.