Overlijdensbericht aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1911

This simple monochrome print is an obituary to Philip Zilcken from an anonymous artist. It's stark, formal, and quite moving. I imagine the artist painstakingly setting each letter, pressing them into the paper, knowing each impression is an act of remembrance. You get a sense of the weight of grief and the need to mark a life. It makes me think about the physical act of creation as a kind of ritual. It reminds me of On Kawara’s date paintings. It’s not about virtuosity. It's a gesture, a kind of meditation on life, loss, and the passage of time. And in its own way, it’s a work of art, born out of love, loss, and the human need to remember. What a perfect example of how art can be quiet, unassuming, yet deeply profound.