Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1911 - 1915

This letter by François Courboin, penned in Paris in 1911, is all delicate marks and gestures; each stroke of ink forming words of gratitude and remembrance. It's like a dance, isn't it? The artist must have felt the pull of each word, each sentence building upon the last, like layers of paint building an image. What was it like to sit there, the nib of the pen scratching against the paper, thoughts flowing from mind to page? It feels like the painterly equivalent of a quiet conversation, a thoughtful exchange between friends. Courboin expresses feelings about friendship and loss so it reminds me of the way Cy Twombly layered text and marks in his paintings to suggest emotion and the passage of time. It’s a reminder that artists are always in conversation with one another, across time and space, inspiring and challenging each other to see the world in new ways. It's not about definitive meanings but about allowing the experience to unfold.