Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1902

This is Alidor Delzant’s letter to Philip Zilcken, dated January 8, 1902, and it’s written in ink on paper. I just want to dive right into the act of mark-making, imagining the artist’s hand as it moves across the page. I want to think about the act of writing as painting. The slight variations of pressure in the artist’s hand and the dance of the pen across the page: doesn't it seem, as the marks deepen and fade, as though each letter is breathing? What was Delzant thinking as he penned this note? You can almost feel the artist’s energy and intention in each stroke of the pen. See the way the letters tilt and curve? The way the signature extends into a flourish, like a final gesture of release? It reminds me of Cy Twombly, who also used handwriting as a form of drawing, pushing the boundaries between text and image. It is a dance of mind and body, as he creates something new and unexpected. This ongoing conversation is one of the things that makes painting so exciting and alive.