Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1910 - 1911

Vittorio Pica made this letter, called "Brief aan Philip Zilcken," with ink on paper. Look at the shapes of the handwritten words! The marks are so alive, like tiny figures dancing across the page. I imagine Pica sitting at his desk, pen in hand, thinking about the words he wants to send, and what it might have been like to sell an important painting for 150,000 francs instead of 200,000. I love the rhythm of the script, the way the letters loop and connect. Each stroke seems to carry his energy, his thoughts flowing directly from his mind onto the paper. There's a little emblem at the top left, a figure, maybe Pica himself? perched upon a pedestal. This reminds me that correspondence itself is a kind of art form. The act of writing is so physical, so immediate, and so personal. Pica put a bit of himself in this letter, and maybe it can inspire us today.