Envelop aan Philip Zilcken 1879 - 1933

This is an envelope, or at least an image of one, by Henri Borel, and what grabs me about it is how immediate and intimate handwriting can be. The tone of the paper is very pale, you could almost say creamy, and the ink sits on it like a dark grey scab. You can see exactly the speed and pressure that formed each character. There’s something so personal about the loops and flicks, the idiosyncratic way someone forms a ‘g’ or crosses a ‘t’. It’s like a fingerprint of the mind. I suppose that’s what I’m always chasing in painting – that sense of direct, unfiltered expression. It feels like a quick sketch by Cy Twombly, where mark making is prioritized over detail. Even though the words are not clear to us, that sense of communication still sings.