Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1920 - 1931

Here, Rose Imel wrote a letter to Philip Zilcken, probably in 1920, with ink on paper. The cursive script leans forward with a lively grace, and this reminds me that mark-making isn't just about describing something; it's about performance. The ink is dark, almost black, against the aged paper, and the lines vary in thickness, giving the writing a kind of rhythmic texture. Look at the way she forms her loops in the 'l's and 'e's, each slightly different, like a dance. You can imagine the movement of her hand, the pressure she applied to the pen. It makes you realize, letters aren’t just about conveying information; they're traces of a human presence. This letter shares a sensibility with Cy Twombly's scrawled, poetic gestures. Both show how art embraces the beauty of imperfection. It's this quality that keeps the conversation going.