Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1892

This is a postcard to Philip Zilcken, written by Richard Nicolaüs Roland Holst in the Netherlands. The card, which was posted in 1902, is an artifact of a world in which written correspondence was a primary means of communication. Consider the postal system itself, an institution of both government and commerce, which made possible the circulation of images and ideas. We can also think about the Royal Academy, an important Dutch institution for the promotion of the visual arts. Zilcken, himself, was a printmaker, art critic, and writer, all of which makes this card a fascinating document of the cultural networks of the time. The handwriting, the stamps, and the very act of sending a physical card all speak to a specific moment in history. To fully understand this artwork, a historian might consult archives of letters and publications, as well as institutional records of the art world in the Netherlands at the turn of the century.