Up close with Artemisia - Conserving a 17th Century Masterpiece

Painting conservator Elizabeth Wicks will share her recent restoration process for the ceiling painting Allegory of Inclination, created for Michelangelo’s home, now at the Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence. This work, completed in 1616 by Artemisia Gentileschi, the most celebrated female painter of the 17th century, was the first frontal female nude ever painted by a woman artist. Gentileschi’s allegorical figure depicting ‘the natural talent for creativity,’ using herself as a model, was later considered overtly risqué. About fifty years after the work was painted, the Buonarroti family called in a well-known Italian Baroque artist, Il Volterrano, who covered the figure with censoring drapery and veils.

Utilizing scientific analysis and modern technology, Wicks was able to reveal how the original painting looked. She will describe the methodology and her journey in discovering the mystery in this masterpiece.

This lecture, part of Sott' Acqua: A Tale of Two Cities Under Water, is presented by Splendor of Florence, the City of Providence, RISD, RISD’s Center for Community Partnership, and the RISD Museum, Brown University, and many others.

Free. Registration for this in-person program is requested.
REGISTER

Elizabeth Wicks’ conservation studio in the center of Florence Italy, where she restores fine art from ancient to contemporary. With over thirty years in the field, Wicks directs conservation projects for museums, churches and public properties, as well as for private clients. She also consults regularly on conservation projects in the United States.
Wicks has a BA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Hamilton/Kirkland Colleges. She was a recipient of the Florence Fellowship for Graduate Studies in Italian Renaissance Art with Syracuse University, and completed her art conservation degree (MFA) at Dominican University in Florence. Wicks also has a post-specialization at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Pisa, with a research project on calcium oxalate patinas on marble monuments.
She is co-president of the Women’s International Network in Florence, she teaches in the five-year MA program in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage of the University of Viterbo (UNITUS), she has published numerous articles on conservation and is a member of the conservation committee of the International Council of Museums. The BBC recently featured her restoration of Allegory of Inclination: Artemisia Gentileschi: Revealing the True Beauty of a Censored Painting.