Brief aan Philip Zilcken 1878 - 1930

This letter by Johan Thorn Prikker is all about marks, lines, and the gesture of writing itself. I can picture Thorn Prikker carefully forming each letter, the pen gliding across the paper, sometimes thin and delicate, sometimes pressing harder to make a thicker, darker stroke. He's talking to Philip Zilcken about an exhibition, maybe trying to sell him some drawings? I wonder what Zilcken was like, and what their relationship was? Each word is carefully chosen, a personal form of expression. When I look at the elegant handwriting, I'm reminded of Cy Twombly's scribbled paintings. Both artists share an interest in the beauty and expressiveness of mark-making. And like Twombly, Thorn Prikker finds a way to communicate feeling and intention through the most basic of forms. These simple lines reveal a lot about the artist's state of mind and artistic sensibility. He seems full of the joys of spring!