Envelop aan Philip Zilcken 1890 - 1930

This is a very delicate pencil sketch by gravin Olga Leutrum von Ertingen-Okolicsanyi d’Okolica, of an envelope addressed to Philip Zilcken. The artist has rendered the address with a real sense of care. It is all about the surface here, isn't it? The way the light falls on the paper, with its imperfections, its torn edges. You can imagine the artist holding this envelope, turning it in the light, feeling its texture. Then, there are the marks themselves. Olga uses the pencil lightly, building up tone slowly. Each stroke is tentative and searching. Look at the way the lines vary in thickness and darkness, full of subtlety. The whole thing has a fragile, ephemeral quality. It's like a whisper, a fleeting moment captured in time. For me, it has something of the quiet intensity of Agnes Martin, in its dedication to simplicity and restraint. Both artists find a kind of profound beauty in the everyday, elevating the mundane to the level of the sublime.