Brief aan Philip Zilcken 1867 - 1911

This is a letter, in Dutch, from Jozef Israëls to Philip Zilcken, and it is part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Israëls was a leading figure in the Hague School, a group of Dutch realist painters active in the late 19th century. The letter offers insight into the social networks of artists and intellectuals during this period. Consider how the act of letter-writing itself was a crucial form of communication and connection in a time before telephones and the internet. We can understand this letter as a historical artifact that sheds light on the artistic and social conditions of the Netherlands in the late 1800s. The Rijksmuseum and other archives offer access to such documents. These resources help us appreciate art as something always embedded in social and institutional contexts.