Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken before 1909

This is Johan Thorn Prikker's "Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken" - a postcard, really a brief message, probably made with ink and paper. It’s all about the directness of mark-making, isn’t it? The way the handwriting creates these wonderful lines, dark and fluid, crossing the surface. You can almost feel the motion of his hand, the pressure on the pen. There’s a real dance happening between the text and the official stamps, this kind of conversation, layering of information. The stamp marks remind me of the painterly gesture, the way the ink spreads and bleeds on the page. I wonder about the color, that muted purple-gray. It feels so specific, not quite melancholy, but maybe a little nostalgic? It makes me think about how messages move through time and how the simplest things can carry so much feeling. I'm reminded of Cy Twombly. It’s that sense of poetry and gesture, that feeling like you are close to the artist's hand. Art is such an ongoing conversation.