Verbrande brief geschreven met inkt van ijzerzouten before 1903

This "Verbrande brief geschreven met inkt van ijzerzouten" is a photograph of an old letter written with iron gall ink. This piece really strikes me because the writing becomes a form of mark-making, almost like drawing. Look closely, and you see how the ink has eaten into the paper, creating this palpable texture. The brown and black tones feel so earthy, like the piece is literally aging before our eyes. There’s an enigmatic quality to the faded script, the shapes of each character so delicate and fragile. The letter is both fragile and resilient, and makes me think of Cy Twombly's scribbled lines and how he too made art out of the materiality of letters. It’s a reminder that art isn’t just about what's represented, but about the traces, layers, and time that create a physical object. A burned letter, after all, is still a form of communication in itself.