Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1891 - 1892

This is a letter written by Adriaan Pit to Philip Zilcken, penned in Paris in February, though the year is not entirely clear. Letters are fascinating historical objects, revealing the personal and professional relationships of their time. The late 19th century saw a growing professionalization of the art world. Here we might ask, who were Adriaan Pit and Philip Zilcken? How did they know each other, and what was the nature of their exchange? With some research, we would discover that Adriaan Pit was the director of the Rijksmuseum, and Zilcken a well-known artist, critic, and art dealer. This letter therefore offers us a glimpse into the workings of the Dutch art world at the turn of the century. Pit's letter refers to Helene Kröller-Müller, a prominent art collector, whom Zilcken presumably knew. As historians, we can use sources like letters, museum archives, and exhibition reviews to reconstruct the social networks that shaped artistic taste and defined the canon of art history.