Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1922

This is a postcard, addressed to Philip Zilcken, I assume written with pen and ink. The card itself is covered with cursive script. The artist could have been in a train station, or a cafe, or even a park, writing on their knee or on a wobbly table. I bet Leopoldo Bizio Gradenigo was in a hurry, but wanted to share something personal with a friend and fellow artist. He writes in French, with a flurry of words that overlap the stamps and postal marks. There is a beautiful rhythm here, a choreography across the rectangular surface. I imagine the pen gliding swiftly across the card, the nib scratching, the ink pooling in the thick strokes. It reminds me of Cy Twombly’s scribbled paintings, where the act of writing becomes a kind of drawing, a dance of the hand and mind. All of these artists—Leopoldo, Cy—were in conversation, each leaving their mark, pushing the boundaries of language and image. Painting is like that, a continuous, evolving dialogue. It always remains open to new meanings and possibilities.