Prentbriefkaart aan Philip Zilcken before 1909

This postcard to Philip Zilcken by Joseph Aurouze, it seems, was written with a dip pen and ink, sometime in the early 20th Century. I imagine the artist's hand moving deliberately across the card, each letter formed with care and precision, yet flowing with a natural rhythm. He is writing a letter in French apologizing to Zilcken. I wonder what they were to each other? Perhaps Zilcken was an art collector? I feel the need to understand why the letter was written to grasp the full intent of Aurouze’s work. Aurouze’s handwriting, with its unique loops and flourishes, reminds us that every mark carries a trace of the artist’s presence, not unlike the gestures in painting. When handwriting is combined with images, like Cy Twombly, we are transported to an imaginative space. In this case, to a world of connection between two men, across place and time.