Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1906 - 1924

This letter to Philip Zilcken was written in 1905 by Jan Hillebrand Wijsmuller using ink on graph paper. You know, there's something about seeing the artist's hand so directly, in the loops and curves of the handwriting. It feels intimate, like we’re getting a peek into their thoughts as they unfold. Look at how the ink varies in darkness, some lines are bold and confident, others are faint and hesitant. This reminds me that art is about process, not just the end result. It’s about the artist wrestling with ideas, making decisions, and leaving traces of that struggle on the page. The grid provides a structure for the organic hand writing. Like the work of Cy Twombly this is also an exploration of text as image, where it is the gesture and the expression that is of primary importance and the meaning is secondary, or unknown. Ultimately, this piece reminds me that art is always a conversation, a way of reaching out and connecting with others across time and space. And, like any good conversation, it’s full of twists, turns, and unexpected detours.