Apr

“Where Are the Women?”

by Joyce McGreevy on April 16, 2019

Shadow of a woman on stairs in a restorer's studio in Florence where Jane Adams of Advancing Women Artists is working to restore the hidden half of Italy's artistic heritage. (Image © by Joyce McGreevy)

At a restorer’s studio in Florence, art by Renaissance women emerges from the shadows.
© Joyce McGreevy

The Hidden Half of Florence, Italy’s Artistic Heritage

“First came the flood,” says Jane Adams. “Then came the flood of helpers.” A passionate builder of partnerships for Advancing Women Artists, Adams meets me at a café near the River Arno. The setting is picture-perfect: Florence, a 2,000-year-old city and the center of Italy’s artistic heritage.

In Florence, reflections of buildings in the Arno river that flooded in 1966 and threatened Italy's artistic heritage. (Image © by Joyce McGreevy)

Mirroring calm today, the River Arno turned deadly in 1966.
© Joyce McGreevy

But on November 4, 1966, the Arno surged over its banks with brutal ugliness, tearing the city in two. It killed 101 people, and inundated historic buildings to a depth of 22 feet.

By the time the water receded, it had deposited 600,000 tons of mud—one ton for everyone in the city. Slicked with motor oil, it swallowed up 14,000 treasures of Renaissance art.

In Florence, a flooded piazza in 1966 is a reminder of threats to Italy's artistic heritage. [image in the public domain]

A café in Florence, Italy, after the flood of 1966.

The Mud Angels

Almost immediately, volunteers showed up by the hundreds. In that pre-digital era, gli angeli del fango—“mud angels”—converged on Florence from across Europe with astonishing speed. According to historian Richard Ivan Jobs, “even before soldiers arrived as part of the official government response, ‘the city was already in the hands of the young’.”

The painstaking work of restoring art began.

But the flood was not the only threat to Italy’s art, says Adams. Artworks by women had long been buried by neglect. For centuries, the hidden half of Florence’s artistic heritage was relegated to basements or incorrectly attributed to men.

Who would undo that damage?

Jane Fortune of Advancing Women Artists inspired worldwide support for the restoration of forgotten works by female Renaissance artists who are part of Italy's artistic heritage. (image by Advancing Women Artists Archives)

Jane Fortune’s book inspired the Emmy-winning documentary
Invisible Women: Forgotten Artists of Florence.
Photo courtesy of Advancing Women Artists

Florence’s Good Fortune

In 1967, a college student in Florence named Jane Fortune was heading home to her native Indiana. As Adams tells it, Fortune said to herself, I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I will find a way to give something back to this city.

In 2005 she got her chance.

Returning to Florence as an art columnist, Fortune explored museums and was soon moved to wonder: Where are the women? Highly visible as subjects, they were rarely seen as artists.

The San Marco convent and museum in Florence that evokes the forgotten artists of the Italian Renaissance who are part of Italy's artistic heritage. [image in the public domain]

Something was hidden away in a corner of San Marco, Florence.

Then Fortune read about Plautilla Nelli.

The first-known female Renaissance painter, Nelli had been wildly successful, an achievement made more remarkable by the fact that as a woman she could not study anatomy or join a guild. Nor was she a lady of leisure. The prioress of a convent, she taught classes, managed budgets, and met daily demands.

Yet Nelli became one of the few women included in Europe’s first major art-history book, Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1568).

As Vasari observed, “There were so many of [Nelli’s] paintings in the houses of gentlemen in Florence it would be tedious to mention them all.”

The masterpiece Lamentation with Saints by Plautilla Nelli shows why Advancing Women Artists is working in Florence to restore the hidden half of Italy's artistic heritage. [public domain image]

Praised for its raw grief, Nelli’s Lamentation with Saints almost vanished forever.

Searching for Nelli

Intrigued, Fortune sought Nelli’s work, but only three paintings remained. When she tracked down one of them, it was a dark canvas streaked in dirt and infested with woodworm.

Fortune decided then and there to commit herself to the restoration of Nelli’s work.

Rosella Lari and Jane Adams view Plautilla Nelli's The Last Supper, an important work in Italy's artistic heritage that Advancing Women Artists is working to restore. (Image © by Joyce McGreevy)

The discovery of Nelli’s massive, highly personal Last Supper made global headlines.
© Joyce McGreevy

In the process, Fortune inspired a movement. As more people supported the effort, the number of artistic search-and-rescue missions grew. In 2009, Fortune founded the Advancing Women Artists Foundation.

“Our aim is to create a connection between art lovers of the present and women artists of the past for everyone’s future,” says Adams.

It’s a mission that she and AWA director Linda Falcone have inherited from Fortune. “Indiana Jane,” as she was affectionately nicknamed by the Italian press, died of ovarian cancer in September 2018.

A Citizen of Florence

“What she did, she did in partnership,” says Adams. “It was for the sheer good of giving back something to Florence, bringing back to the forefront the hidden half of the Florentine Renaissance heritage.”

Rosella Lari stands before Plautilla Nelli's The Last Supper, which she is restoring as part of Advancing Women Artists' efforts to illuminate the hidden half of Italy's artistic heritage. (Image © by Joyce McGreevy)

Rosella Lari has devoted four years to restoring Nelli’s Last Supper.
© Joyce McGreevy

The Art of Making Art Visible

Now Adams and Falcone are carrying that partnership forward, inviting us to practice the art of making women’s art visible.

Before-and-after details from Plautilla Nelli's The Last Supper reflect the painstaking efforts by Advancing Women Artists in Florence to restore the hidden half of Italy's artistic heritage. (Left: Image by Francesco Cacchiani for Advancing Women Artists; Right: Image © by Joyce McGreevy)

“Restoration is not re-creation,” says Adams of the painstaking process of
revealing original work.
L: Francesco Cacchiani for AWA / R: © Joyce McGreevy

AWA has restored 61 paintings and sculptures, published a dozen ground-breaking books, and identified 2,000 forgotten artworks. The foundation is building the world’s largest digital database of 15th- to 19th-century women artists.

Meanwhile, a painting once covered in dirt and infested with woodworm is nearing the final stages of restoration. When it goes on view in the Santa Maria Novella Museum, it will be the first time in 450 years that it has been publicly displayed.

Oh, I see: The hidden half of Florence, Italy’s artistic heritage is steadily coming to light.

Jane Adams, partnership relations director of Advancing Women Artists, is working in Florence to restore the hidden half of Italy's artistic heritage. (Image © by Joyce McGreevy)

Adams (above), Falcone, and donors from 19 countries are giving new visibility
to historic women artists.
© Joyce McGreevy

Join the worldwide effort to save women’s artwork here. Follow AWA here.

Explore Nelli’s Last Supper, the world’s largest painting by a female Renaissance artist here.

Comment on the post below.

Joyce McGreevy Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Italy/The World's Art & Design

Apr

Memorable Moments: Haven’t You Heard?

by Your friends at OIC on April 8, 2019

Listen up.
© iStock

Sure, it’s the great writing pared with great visuals that keeps you coming back to share OIC Moments with us, but we don’t want to overlook the impact sounds can have on bringing ideas and experiences to life. So while our bloggers work on what they’ve got to say next, we wanted to give you a look (and a listen) back at some popular posts with audible contributions.

Your friends at OIC Comments

Croatia/Ireland/Mexico

Apr

Flights of Fancy

by Joyce McGreevy on April 1, 2019

In the early days of aviation, airlines had to transport passengers one at a time by hand.

Travel Innovations Soar Every April

Every year on this day, the travel industry announces innovations that push the boundaries of creative problem solving and take air travel to new heights. Here are airline upgrades that made aviation news in Aprils past.

A figure with suitcase at an airport evokes the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Today more people than ever are able to experience being stuck at airports.

Travel Technology Takes Flight

In April 2017, Emirates Airline delivered a game changer: plans for the world’s largest commercial aircraft. The April 1 ad campaign went viral as Emirates debuted the Triple Decker APR001, the first jet in history to feature an onboard swimming pool, park, and gym. See video!

Not to be outdone, Virgin Airlines rolls out news-generating inventions with such consistency that by March 31 at 11:59pm aviation buffs are poised for updates.

So it was on April 1, 2013 when Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson announced “the technology required to produce the world’s first glass-bottomed plane.” This technological innovation, which coincided with the expansion of Virgin Atlantic Airways domestic service within Great Britain promised “an unrivalled view of Scotland.”

A crowded commercial airline interior evokes the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Starting today, many airlines will offer games like “Musical Chairs” and “Twister.”

Clear Leadership

While public reaction was tempered, skeptics reflected a more fractured view: Would Virgin Airlines’ upgrades shutter the competition? Could engineers hold up their end of Branson’s glass bottom? Or in shattering the glass ceiling of aviation technology, had their creativity hit a breaking point?

Oh, I see: While some cheered the First Glass Service, others saw a glass plane half empty.

Branson responded with transparency, revealing April after April that he would always take great panes to floor his passengers. Subsequent upgrades included:

In-flight Spin Classes, offering passengers frequent flyer points for every kilometer cycled. “The harder you spin, the more you’ll grin,” commented a spokesperson known to be a big wheel.
The Dreambird 1417: Its high-tech flexible wings created a flapping motion that moved the plane forward and generated electrical power for the cabin.

A food truck and commercial airplane on a runway remind the author of the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

As of April 1, McGreevy’s Law will require airline meals to contain up to 10% actual food.

Dogging the Competition

On April 1, 2017, Branson unleashed his most popular airline upgrade yet, the Canine Crew: Video

Few airlines had the pedigree to compete. But one Canadian carrier proved it’s never too late to learn new tricks. Determined to get a leg up, WestJet uncaged its Furry Family policy: Video.

People playing with water by an airplane remind the author of aviation traditions and innovation. [Image public domain]

Now economy passengers can enjoy free post-flight spa treatments.

Taking Care of Business

Other airlines refused to roll over and play dead.

Southwest Airlines made a splash with “Cash Lav,” an onboard game show that turned a visit to the smallest room into a chance to win big bucks. The series, which aired 01/04/16, yanked chains nationwide. But when critics pooh-poohed it, airline execs sent it down the drain.

Video: Pilot Episode of Southwest Airlines “Cash Lav” is Flush with Humor

By contrast, Swoop Airlines of Canada had passengers down in the dumps when it announced an April 1 price hike on in-flight facilities. Tags like #ThisStinks! and #SoCrappy! spread online as many cried foul. Get the full scoop here.

An unsmiling traveler on an airport escalator evokes the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Passengers are obviously very excited by commercial airlines’ April 1 upgrades.

Snacks on a Plane!

Canada’s WestJet solved air travel’s scariest problem: in-flight beverage carts that block the aisle. For too long passengers had returned from the loo only to get stuck in a slow-moving conga line. WestJet’s creative thinkers installed rails that let robotic snack canteens glide overhead, air-dropping snacks and beverages onto tray tables. Or laps.

Video: Robotic Automated Light Food Handler (#RALFH) Tosses Cookies

man walking a cow reminds the author of airlines’ creative problem solving and policies regarding animals. [Image public domain]

Animal airline passengers can now bring along their Emotional Support Humans.

Room at the Top

As competition for creative problem-solving went full-throttle midair, other sectors of the travel industry elbowed their way onboard. With no armrest for latecomers, success belonged to those who kept their feet on the ground, their head in the clouds, and their tray tables under the seats in front of them.

Some companies formed alliances. But the merger of aviation and five-star accommodation had already reached its zenith on April 1, 2009 with the debut of The Hotelicopter. In a shocking twist, the world’s first flying hotel never took off. Soaring demand kept the luxury rooms out of reach of even the highest flyers.

Video: Hotelicopter Generates Spin, Raises Reservations

An astonished looking construction worker reminds the author of the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Airlines will offer discounts to passengers who help build the planes.

Trending Travel Take-Offs

As home-centric businesses get in on the act, flights of fancy innovation will transform all aspects of travel, even staycations.

Airbnb announced a spin-off brand one recent April 1. Recognizing that “every hero needs a hideaway,” the home-share business launched “Lairbnb,” complete with unique transportation to the airport. See the ad.

Not to be caught napping, Lucid Mattress delivered a wakeup call with the April 1 roll-out of ShareBED. View here.

The Future of Travel Is Ahead

Experts confirm that the travel innovations of April 1, 2020 will differ from those of the present day. But while no one can predict the present, today’s headlines could herald incredible examples of creative problem-solving.

So ignore any naysayers who insist, “It’s all fake news on the first of April.” (Fools!)

A moving sidewalk at an airport reminds the author of the need for aviation innovations and creative problem solving. [Image public domain]

Linking motorized walkways from LAX to JFK will reduce overcrowding in planes.

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