Relative silence. .PERUGINO'S FACES ARE OFTEN too sweet, too other-worldly, but this little picture is unforgettable. It is only in the most technical sense Saint Mary Magdalen Magdalen: see Mary Magdalene. , and Perugino has blazoned her name in embroidered em·broi·der v. em·broi·dered, em·broi·der·ing, em·broi·ders v.tr. 1. To ornament with needlework: embroider a pillow cover. 2. capitals across her tunic as if in wry recognition of this. What she is is a young girl, silent indeed, but as yet unprepared to accept the seriousness of living inwardly. She floats on the surface of her spirit, pensive pen·sive adj. 1. Deeply, often wistfully or dreamily thoughtful. 2. Suggestive or expressive of melancholy thoughtfulness. but not committed. This is so relative a silence that it has little transformative power. It is that easy silence, of which the most accessible form is the daydream. Real silence is both supremely simple and yet not easy. It draws us into a dimension always open to those who will allow themselves to be centered. But centering bars us from many irrelevances in which we take a guilty pleasure: Perugino's little beauty is not yet ready for the light. By SISTER WENDY BECKETT of Norfolk, England, well-known for her BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. and PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, television art series and her popular art books. Reprinted with permission from: Sister Wendy's Book of Meditations (DK Publishing, 1998; 877-342-5357). Painting: Saint Mary Magdalen (cropped), by Pietro Perugino (c. 1500, Pitti Palace, Florence). |
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