

Restoration Conversations - Magazine Issue 1
Vivian Maier, Laura Knight, Iris Origo, Sofia Uslenghi, Wanda and Marion Wulz and more... Press the image to flip through Spring/Summer 2022 Contemporary Italian women photographers meet their historic counterparts at Florence’s Forte Belvedere and Villa Bardini Museum, during Fotografe! Women Photographers: Alinari Archives and Contemporary Perspectives , an exhibition showcasing one of the world’s most important photographic archives. This issue features interviews with eme


The Search for Violante: Restoration Episode 5
Restoration continues... three artworks attributed to Violante Siriès Cerroti in the Prior's Chapel at the Certosa di Firenze monastery face the next step of the conservation process. "A solution of Gel Funori purified algae was then brushed onto the reverse of the canvases, in order to strengthen and consolidate the fibres," explains co-conservator Elizabeth Wicks. "Once dry, two coats of acrylic consolidant resin in White Spirit were applied by brush to the reverse to assur


The Search for Violante: Restoration Episode 4
Layer by Layer: Structural conservation. From removing old varnish and reweaving tears, to using techniques that minimise canvas distortion… Watch the multi-faceted structural conservation phase, which involves a series of operations geared at giving stability and solidity to each painting layer. The restoration and awareness-raising project featured in this video, known as ‘Accademia Women: Violante’, was organised by the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno (AADFI) and Syracuse


The Search for Violante: Restoration Episode 3
Conservators are 'cleaning up the past'. "The cleaning of paintings attributed to Violante Siriès is a multi-step procedure which involves removing their very thick layer of grime and smoke deposits. The varnish on these paintings is a restoration varnish probably applied during the twentieth century. As we gradually removed the varnish from all the colours, the repaints emerged. They are also seen clearly in the diagnostic photos we took in ultra violet light," says Elizabet


The Search for Violante: Restoration Episode 2
Diagnostic Photography reveals the state of conservation of three paintings from the Prior's Chapel at the Certosa di Firenze monastery in Florence, Italy, before restoration begins. It is used to reveal original materials and techniques used to produce paintings attributed to eighteenth-century painter Violante Siries Cerroti. During the process, conservators map damage and changes to the paintings. They also pinpoint the degradation of substances applied during previous res


THE SEARCH FOR VIOLANTE: Restoration Episode 1
Restoration Begins. What does it take to restore a painting from centuries past? This video begins at Florence's Certosa di Firenze monastery, with the removal of three eighteenth-century paintings that are ready for restoration. Watch the largest painting – a ‘Reading Madonna’ by early female artist Violante Siriès Cerroti – being removed from its made-to-measure niche in the Prior’s Cell, along with two smaller roundels of Saints Agnes and Catherine, whose attributions to S
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