A few years ago, one of them was Joost Caen. A stained-glass artist from Schoten in Antwerp province, Caen discovered the monastery by accident while on holiday with his wife. They had travelled through Tuscany and Umbria, visiting the famous towns and cities renowned for their art history, such as Florence and Assisi. At the end of their journey, they found themselves with a bit of time left over. “We asked what else there was to see in the region and were told about the abbey of Fonte Avellana,” says Caen. “It’s a hidden secret. It’s like paradise.”
There was just one aspect that was troubling to Caen: the state of the windows. Made from ordinary glass, many had broken panes and were covered by torn curtains. Caen’s wife mentioned that it was a real pity that such a beautiful architectural treasure like Fonte Avellana should have windows in such bad condition.
“We can’t afford new ones,” was the monk’s simple reply.
So Caen set to work on window designs for the chapter house, the church and the scriptorium, a room once used for the writing and copying of manuscripts. Fonte Avellana is home to the oldest surviving scriptorium in the world.
“The monks were extremely enthusiastic about the window designs,” Caen says, “which gave me extra energy to find a sponsor.”
And the money was found. A family from West Flanders provided the funding for the first series, while an Italian sponsor was found for the second series.
Caen spent a lot of time with the monks at Fonte Avellana, not only to discuss the project but also to learn about their way of life and discover what is important to them. “My work is not just about integrating into the architecture,” he explains. “It’s also about integrating into the life of my clients. I say to them: ‘I want to realise the stained-glass windows that you have had in your mind for a long time.’”
For the windows at Fonte Avellana, Caen worked with the Latin phrase ora et labora, pray and work, words that are an inspiration to the monks who live there. “In my stained-glass windows, the vertical lines symbolise praying, the horizontal represents labour.”
Counting more than 60 windows in total, the project, called A Cycle of Inspiration, is Caen’s largest to date. It took four years to complete, with the last piece put in place earlier this year. The final window was perhaps the most difficult, Caen says. He was already packing away his materials when the monks asked him if he could make designs for windows in two doors, one in the entrance hall and one in the transept of the church.
“There was no time for discussion,” Caen recalls. “I was forced to make a decision very quickly, and I don’t like to work like that.” But this time, he spontaneously knew what was needed. He took his watercolour brushes and painted two incomplete circles in a yellow-orange hue. “It opened up the cycle,” he explains. The design speaks to the religious community, which believes in an afterlife, as well as those who don’t hold the same beliefs. “I was very happy with the final result.”
To Caen, it is important that art works together with people, rather than against them. In the 19th century, he says, artists tried to detach themselves from their sponsors and sought to express individual emotions. In the 20th century, individual emancipation dominated. “Today, we must bring art back from pure individual expression towards a more common opinion,” he says. The stained-glass window and the way it reflects the light, the artist explains, are supposed to touch people.
Given the tradition of stained glass, it is not surprising that many of Caen’s designs have been made for places of worship. But he has also undertaken projects for civic buildings and private houses. In Deurne, for example, he integrated stained glass into solar panels for the town hall. In Kortrijk, he designed windows for a block of flats for retired people.
He would like to work on projects for schools, hospitals and city halls because those are the places where people spend either the important or the difficult times of their lives. “Having changing light in those places is just as important as in churches,” he asserts. “Light is life. It can bring a positive moment into people’s lives.”
Caen has been working with stained glass for more than three decades. He first discovered the medium as a student at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. “I was really fascinated by the material,” he says. “Thirty-two years on and I’m still in love with it!”
It is that love for the material and the desire to touch people that drive him. “People have said to me that my work at Fonte Avellana is my opus magnum. I hope it isn’t,” he chuckles. “I hope to have many more inspiring and challenging projects in the future.”
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