Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1902 - 1924

This postcard to Philip Zilcken was sent by the Belgian art critic Octave Maus likely around 1902. As secretary of the artist group Les XX, Maus championed progressive art in Belgium. This card itself becomes a miniature artwork as a record of exchange between cultural figures across Europe. Here, the postal markings transform the card's surface into a layered archive. We see stamps from La Gelée and Bruxelles, alongside handwritten notes indicating addresses in both Holland and Belgium. The bilingual text, in French and Dutch, reflects Belgium's complex linguistic landscape and its position between different cultural spheres. In viewing this postcard, the art historian pieces together fragments of a network. Letters, publications, exhibition catalogues – these are the raw materials for understanding the social life of art. This tells us how ideas circulated, how artists found patronage, and how cultural institutions helped shape artistic tastes at the turn of the century.