Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1921

This letter, written in Paris in 1921 by Cato l’ Hôpital, is covered in a flurry of handwriting in blue ink, and looks like a painting in its own right. I can imagine the artist deeply engrossed, penning her thoughts, line after line, in looping cursive. I feel a real connection to her here, visualizing the scene as she’s writing, her mind racing as she puts pen to paper. The texture of the page, the way the ink bleeds slightly, all contribute to its feel. Look at the way some letters are formed and how they lean. You can feel the rhythm of her thoughts, and the urgency of her message. The whole thing becomes a kind of emotional seismograph. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation, even across time, inspiring each other. Painting, like writing, is an embodied form of expression. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for many interpretations rather than fixed meanings. What a legacy!