Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1890

Curator: This letter, "Brief aan Philip Zilcken," likely penned around 1890 by Edouard Taurel using pen, ink, and paper… it feels like peering into someone's private thoughts. Almost ghostly, wouldn't you say? Editor: It is definitely a glimpse into the past. It's interesting that it is not framed as a work of art in the traditional sense. What makes this piece stand out to you? Curator: Well, consider the intimacy of handwriting. Each stroke reveals the writer’s temperament. Think of Taurel pausing, mid-sentence, perhaps dipping his pen to keep the thought flowing…it’s a very human moment captured on paper. And, for me, that's where the artistry lies - beyond the words themselves, I see a raw emotional residue of the creation itself. Editor: I hadn't considered that level of intimacy. I was more focused on trying to decipher the handwriting, and how its uniformity adds to the visual impact. Curator: Indeed, that uniform script lends an aesthetic quality of the letter. Was this uniformity intentional? Maybe it has to do with Zilcken and the artist’s relationship to him. Or the formal constraints of letter-writing as an art in itself. It is the intention in communicating to someone or maybe to oneself, right? Editor: Interesting! I never thought of that before. I tend to focus on what is written rather than considering the aesthetic of how things are written. Thank you.