Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1895 - 1898

Editor: So, this is "Brief aan Philip Zilcken," possibly from 1895-1898, by Jan Veth. It's ink on paper, so it’s a drawing of a letter, I guess? It gives me an odd feeling... sort of intimate, peering at something not meant for me, but also a bit detached, because, well, I can't read the writing. What do you make of it? Curator: You're right; there's an immediacy coupled with distance here. It's a window into a moment, a relationship, but framed, literally, by the act of display. Veth, he was really exploring the artistic possibilities *within* portraiture here. This isn't just about likeness. It’s about capturing essence. The everyday. Ephemera! It is so him, really, because so many elements from different sources came to play in his drawings, and one needs to try to look and think differently. Editor: Ephemera as art, I like that. You know, at first I thought the messy handwriting would be a detractor, but I see what you mean. It is capturing his everyday thoughts... like he just threw something together and was hoping for the best. Curator: Precisely! Handwriting becomes line, composition. Notice how Veth uses the whole space, almost crowding it, yet there’s a rhythm. He is saying something, if you look differently, and what can be learned from all this is endless. Can you feel the intimacy, now? The sort of secret shared? Editor: Definitely! Before, it felt voyeuristic, but now it's more like a collaboration, us three: Veth, Zilcken and me…the one eavesdropping. Curator: And, of course, Jan Veth gets the last laugh since this “personal” correspondence is being displayed. I like to wonder how he’d feel knowing we’re analyzing his handwritten letter.