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 Siriès are currently under study. In this video clip, conservators Marina Vincenti and Elizabeth Wicks protect the paintings prior to transporting them to the restoration studio, with the help of expert art movers. Click image, to view on Calliope Arts' Youtube Channel.