Visitekaartje aan Philip Zilcken 1869 - 1937

This "Visitekaartje aan Philip Zilcken" was made, we think, sometime around the late 19th or early 20th century by Arsène Alexandre, and is an intriguing piece of handwritten communication. The ink meanders across the card, each stroke a small journey. The writing is so transparent and immediate, you can almost hear Alexandre's voice. It feels like he's right there, confiding in you, and each word seems to spring directly from his mind. There's an intimacy in the way the letters lean into each other, a kind of dance of thoughts made visible. The ink is dark, yet the words themselves ask for modesty and humility. It reminds me of Cy Twombly’s scribbled paintings, where the act of writing becomes a form of drawing. Both artists use text to create a space of contemplation, inviting us to decipher not just the words, but the feeling behind them. Art is such a conversation, a continuous exchange across time. It's never about fixed meanings, but about opening up possibilities.