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Book in Italian only. Curated by Cristina Acidini and Alessandro Cecchi
Published by Oficina Libraria, 2023
The restoration of the Allegory of Inclination by Artemisia Gentileschi, the most famous female artist in Italy and Europe in the 17th century, involved not only conservation work on the painting but also an extensive diagnostic campaign using the most advanced imaging techniques available for restoration. The allegory, commissioned by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger in 1616 for the gallery of the family's palazzo, was painted as a nude female figure reclining on clouds and holding a compass.
Around 1680, a descendant of Michelangelo the Younger, probably his nephew Leonardo Buonarroti, commissioned Baldassarre Franceschini, known as the Volterrano, to paint a blue drape and veils that would conceal figure's nudity, making it more suitable to an idea of decorum linked to more restrictive morality.
In addition to restoration overviews and scientific investigation reports, the volume contains in-depth essays on Artemisia and her relationship with Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger, built on historical and philosophical assumptions associated with the magnificent iconographic programme of which the Inclination forms part. The book also sheds light on the figure of Michelangelo the Younger and his role in the literary, scientific, musical and political context of early 17th-century Florence, and his relationships with figures such as Galileo Galilei and the musician and soprano Francesca Caccini.
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