Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1901 - 1908

This letter was penned by Carel Nicolaas Storm van 's-Gravesande in The Hague, on what looks like simple writing paper. The brown ink really makes the letters pop. You know, looking at this script, it’s all about the gesture, like a dance with the pen, swooping and diving across the page. It’s kind of wild how the ink sits on the paper, some parts thick and juicy, others almost disappearing. You can almost feel him pressing down, then letting up, as if the pen had a mind of its own. And those elongated strokes, especially in the signature, they give the whole thing a sense of rhythm, like the beat of a song. There's a real sense of immediacy, the whole process on display. Thinking about it, it reminds me of Cy Twombly's scribbles, just more…contained. Both artists embrace the imperfection and playfulness of the hand. It's a reminder that art is always a conversation, an ongoing exchange of marks and ideas.