Brief aan Philip Zilcken before 1919

Editor: This is “Brief aan Philip Zilcken,” a drawing on paper in ink by Rose Imel, made sometime before 1919. The handwriting, although in French, seems very personal, like a peek into a private moment. What strikes you most about it? Curator: It whispers secrets, doesn't it? This piece feels like stumbling upon a forgotten letter, brimming with intimacy. Look at the delicate fading of the ink – almost as if the words themselves are trying to escape back into the ether from which they came. And the impatient slant of the handwriting... almost rushing to capture thought. The everyday captured, if you like, at an elevated height. Editor: It's funny you mention that. I notice Imel dates the letter “Tuesday, February 14th.” Any chance it's a Valentine? The tone sounds so informal! Curator: Perhaps! And it gives you this unique, artistic vantage point, doesn't it? Zilcken himself was a significant figure - an artist, writer and a critic - very plugged-in, you might say. He must have received piles of correspondence from all and sundry! Yet Imel has shared her soul for posterity. Now that’s courage. I wonder what their connection was really. It seems so casual. Does it invite or rebuff closer acquaintance? Editor: You've definitely given me a new appreciation for seeing personal archives as art. To look past merely biographical curiosities to understand emotional value. Curator: Exactly! It’s that flicker of human connection, frozen in time, and isn’t it glorious? The accidental is what invites our deeper considerations...