Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1914

This postcard, a "Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken," was sent by Willem Bastiaan Tholen sometime in the early 20th century, we think. It's not paint, like I'm used to, but the gestures of the handwritten script feel really immediate. The card itself is unassuming, but it’s the address, meticulously lettered, that grabs me. The ink is thin but solid, the strokes confident. Look at the loops on the "Z" in Zilcken, or the elegant curves in the address below. They’re so controlled and yet so free, like a dancer who knows all the steps and can still improvise. It’s like Tholen wasn't just writing an address; he was performing it. There's a stamp too, with postmark partially obscuring the word Nederland. It adds another layer of texture, a mark of time and transit. It reminds me of Cy Twombly's work, that sense of something fleeting and fragile, but made permanent through the act of inscription. It shows how something as simple as a postcard can be a work of art in itself.