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THE SCIENCE OF ARTEMISIA Preparatory drawing emerges


Documentation and Research for Artemisia UpClose


"Non-invasive, non-contact optical analyses were performed to study the materials comprising Artemisia Gentileschi's Allegory of Inclination and to track its morphology, which is likely to change during restoration," says Dr Raffaella Fontana, National Institute of Optics Director of Research. Watch the process involved in the multi-spectral analysis used to study Artemisia's preparatory drawing and more.




SCIENCE SISTERS

Artemsia visits the National Institute of Optics...

"Most people consider art conservation a painstaking process where elbow grease and solvent save the day, and there’s no arguing it’s a job for skilled hands and eagle eyes – but sometimes, this bird’s-eye view involves 32 layers of x-ray vision – something like what superman might see – or, in this case, superwoman. Physicist Raffaella Fontana is Director of Research at the National Institute of Optics (INO) in Florence, where she has been working for over two decades…" Read the full article by Linda Falcone, in The Florentine.




The Artemisia UpClose restoration project at Casa Buonarotti is fully documented by Florence-based Russian videomaker and Photographer Olga Makarova. The slide show below features candid shots of the INO team at Casa Buonarroti Museum and the National Institute of Optics.



Researchers pictured:


INO team: Raffaella FONTANA, Jana STRIOVA, Alice DAL FOVO, Silvia INNOCENTI, Marco RAFFAELLI. University Students / Università di Firenze: Margherita GIUGNI, Emma VANNINI, Irene LUNGHI

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