Briefkaart aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1901 - 1923

This postcard was made by Isaac Israels some time in the late 19th century, we don't know exactly when. It's the kind of everyday object that can become so much more than the sum of its parts, especially when it finds its way into a museum. There are so many layers of process and history here. It's not just about the information it conveys. You can see the faded postal marks, the loop of ink where Israels signs his name. What stories could this object tell? I imagine the pressure of the pen on paper, the way the ink might have bled slightly, and the rush of getting the mail out. This card reminds me of work by Cy Twombly, the way that the most throwaway gestures, marks and scribbles can contain a certain beauty. Art, like life, is an ongoing conversation across time. It invites us to pause, reflect, and find meaning in the unexpected.