Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1891 - 1894

This is a briefkaart, or postcard, sent to Philip Zilcken by Jan Voerman, likely dating from around 1891. The humble postcard is a potent object for the social historian, revealing a great deal about the networks of exchange that made up the art world of the late 19th century. Here, the card is addressed to the ‘Secretary of the Dutch Art Club’, which tells us that Zilcken occupied an important institutional position. We might want to ask, what was the role of such art clubs in the Netherlands at this time? Were they governmental organisations, or private societies? What kind of social function did they serve? The stamps and postmarks give us further clues as to the material circumstances of artistic production in the Netherlands. Detailed archival research can reveal the postal rates and the location of the sender at the time of posting. All these kinds of documentary traces help us to better understand the world that made this artwork possible.