Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1901 - 1921

This letter, written by Louis de Saint-Jacques, is a beautiful study in monochrome. You can really see the pressure of the pen on the page, the way the ink pools and feathers, and the dance of the hand across the page. It is easy to forget handwriting is a form of drawing. Look at the loops and the flourishes of the ‘M’ in ‘Monsieur’ at the top. There’s a freedom in the way the words cascade down the page, each stroke a tiny gesture, building into lines, paragraphs, a whole world of meaning, set down with an instrument we might overlook. Like Cy Twombly, Saint-Jacques is making marks that speak to something beyond legibility, something more like pure feeling. The letter reminds us that art isn’t just about the grand gesture, but about the accumulation of small moments, layered together to create something resonant.