Overlijdensbericht aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1904 - 1914

This is a death announcement for Philip Lodewijk Jacob Frederik Sadée, a painter, printed in The Hague, back in 1904. What strikes me is the stark formality of the black ink on paper, a process of mechanical reproduction, yet laden with personal grief. Look at the weight of those words, each letter pressed into the page, almost like an etching, creating a texture that speaks of finality. You can almost feel the pressure, the careful arrangement, a somber composition. The overall tone reminds me of early conceptual art, where language itself becomes the medium, bearing the weight of both information and emotion. The phrase “SIMPLICITAS” at the bottom feels poignant. Like a nod towards the artist’s life now reduced to this minimal yet resonant message. It makes me think of artists like On Kawara, who used date paintings to mark time, each canvas a meditation on existence. This simple announcement is a different kind of time marker, a stark reminder of our shared mortality, presented with an elegant, understated simplicity.