Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1901 - 1912

This is a letter to Philip Zilcken, written in 1901 by Annie Mario, and it's like glimpsing a moment frozen in time. The ink strokes are really gorgeous, aren't they? Firm, with a little bit of give. It reminds me of how we try to control our movements, but life always slips in, doesn't it? You can almost feel the nib of the pen scratching on the page. I’m curious about how the density of ink pools in each letter, creating a little world of texture right there on the paper. It's so intimate, right? This letter isn't just information, it's a piece of Annie, her hand, her thoughts, all pressed into the paper. Letters are a kind of painting, I guess: marks of ourselves, sent out into the world. Thinking about women like Agnes Martin, who found freedom and expression through line and grid, I see something similar here in the constraints of language. It’s a reminder that art can be found anywhere, in any form, if we’re willing to look closely enough.