Fabienne Verdier- Retables, Waddington Custot, London - Flipbook - Page 33
I wondered why I couldn’t
transform the teachings
of the old masters. I thought
of Giotto, who dared to decorate
the Basilica of Saint Francis
of Assisi in 1279.
At the time, paintings were
banned from religious surfaces
because the Cistercians
forbade any “decoration”
of sacred spaces.
How could you not
admire Giotto’s audacity
in recreating the harmonies
of the Gregorian chants
with his paintings?
He was not interested
in likeness, but in
the resonance of the spirit.
He understood the expression
of beauty through simplicity.
Transformation is a risk
worth taking!
Only through ceaseless
transformation can we invent
new languages.
I believe that it is also by virtue
of transformation that we can
profoundly experience our way
of being in the world.
Fabienne Verdier
Passenger of silence, 2003
33
