Brief aan Philip Zilcken Possibly 1912

This letter to Philip Zilcken was written with blue ink on paper in Lausanne in 1912. The handwriting loops and curls across the page, a real dance of communication. The writer, M. Secretan, uses the page with such a casual confidence, filling it from top to bottom. I love the way the ink bleeds ever so slightly into the paper, softening each word and gesture. You can almost feel the nib pressing down, the weight and rhythm of the writer's hand as he shares his thoughts and memories. The texture of the page, slightly rough, gives the marks a life of their own. Look at the capital letters, like the ‘C’ in Cher; a flourish, a moment of emphasis, that speaks volumes. It reminds me a little of Cy Twombly's scribbled paintings, or even some notes by Agnes Martin, where the act of writing becomes a kind of drawing. It's all about the touch, the feeling, the energy that goes into making a mark. It’s a beautiful reminder that art, in all its forms, is just a conversation, a sharing of ideas across time and space.