Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1918

This handwritten letter was penned by Johan Hendrik van Mastenbroek on March 15, 1918, carrying words across time. Imagine the artist hunched over a desk, grappling with ink and paper, each stroke a deliberate act, a dance between thought and expression. There’s a raw intimacy here, a directness that leaps off the page. The ink, thin and dark, flows and pools, creating a topography of feeling. It feels like this letter is a painting in itself. The way the writing leans and curves, the pressure of the pen leaving its mark—it's pure gesture. It's like Mastenbroek is sketching with language, each word a brushstroke in a composition of urgency and care. I imagine the dialogue between artists across time, each leaving their mark, building upon the gestures of those who came before. Painting and writing, they're both about making marks, about leaving a trace of ourselves, our thoughts, and our feelings in the world. It is a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, a shared exploration of what it means to be human.