Aantekening uit archief Philip Zilcken 1867 - 1930

This sheet of paper covered in handwritten notes is from the archive of Philip Zilcken, a Dutch artist and art critic born in 1857. Zilcken lived through a time of significant cultural and social change in Europe, with debates swirling around modernism, industrialization, and the role of art in society. These annotations offer a glimpse into the meticulous, almost obsessive, nature of cataloging and documenting art. The act of listing "states" suggests a desire to capture every variation, every iteration of a work. It brings to mind broader questions about value, authenticity, and the impulse to preserve and classify. What does it mean to try and capture every state of an image? Is this an act of preservation, a genuine attempt to understand the artist's process, or a reflection of a collector’s desire to possess and control? Perhaps, in these notes, we see the intersection of personal passion and the societal structures that shape our understanding of art history.