Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1907

This letter to Philip Zilcken, penned in Provence in 1907 by Eugénie Clapier-Houchart, captures a moment, preserved in ink. The flow of handwriting is the art here, a dance across the page. See how the ink varies in tone, sometimes darker, sometimes fading almost to nothing? This is the thing about process, you can make plans, but the materials have their say too. The nib probably caught on the paper a few times, or maybe the writer paused, considering. The words themselves are full of warmth, an invitation, and an excitement about the prospect of meeting again. There's a lightness to the script that reminds me a little of Twombly’s mark-making, a sense of something dashed off, but with an inherent elegance. It’s like a quick sketch, full of potential. Letters are like that, they become relics of a moment in time. Fleeting, but also timeless.