Brief aan Philip Zilcken 1898 - 1907

This letter was written by Jan Toorop to Philip Zilcken. Looking at the quick, looping marks, I can imagine Toorop hunched over a desk, pen in hand, lost in thought. What was he thinking as the words flowed from his pen? A dark ink, almost like tar, records the pressure and rhythm of his hand. There’s a nervous energy to the marks, a sense of urgency in the way the letters crowd together on the page. You get the sense that the words were important for him to say. The texture of the paper probably felt smooth under his hand as he navigated the empty space. This reminds me of Cy Twombly's scrawling script paintings, which turned writing into a form of abstract expression. Artists are always inspiring and riffing off each other, it's like a big conversation across time! Toorop’s letter reminds us that art is a way of thinking and feeling and connecting, embracing all of the messy ambiguities of communication.