Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1914

This letter was written in London on February 6th by Isaac Israels. It's a personal note, and you can almost feel the pen moving across the paper. The ink is delicate, like a whisper of thought captured in graceful loops and lines. It’s not just the content of the letter, but the way the words themselves are formed. Each stroke feels deliberate, yet spontaneous, revealing the artist’s hand and mind in action. Look at how the lines vary in thickness, how the pressure changes, creating a rhythm. It's like a dance across the page, echoing the way Israels approached his paintings – with a sense of immediacy and directness. You can trace the evolution of an idea as it emerges, uncertain and then resolved. This letter reminds me of Cy Twombly's work, with its messy, almost illegible script that becomes a kind of abstract drawing. It is a reminder that art is often about capturing a moment, an emotion, a fleeting thought.