Finding vertiginous fame, Peretti retired to Spain, to the village of Sant Martí Vell, where he bought a complex in 1968, and began to revive it, one building at a time. Peretti led an ascetic, unhurried and happy existence in Catalonia (perhaps something similar to that of Georgia O’Keeffe in Taos, New Mexico), which she considered conducive to creation. “Sure, I’m slow,” she said Vogue. “I have to crystallize a shape, find the essence. It is continuous training to be essential in your work, so you must also be essential in your life. “
Given that Peretti was known for his generosity and for discreetly supporting his friends, it seems fitting that one of his best known pieces is an open heart.
Elsa Peretti, 1974.
Photographed by Duane Michals, Vogue, December 1974