“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.

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.

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’.”

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.

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.

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 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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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

At a restorer’s studio in Florence, art by Renaissance women emerges from the shadows.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n

The Hidden Half of Florence, Italy’s Artistic Heritage<\/h2>\n
“First came the flood,\u201d says Jane Adams. \u201cThen came the flood of helpers.” A passionate builder of partnerships for Advancing Women Artists, Adams meets me at a caf\u00e9 near the River Arno. The setting is picture-perfect: Florence, a 2,000-year-old city and the center of Italy’s artistic heritage.<\/p>\n
$\"In$
Mirroring calm today, the River Arno turned deadly in 1966.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
By the time the water receded, it had deposited 600,000 tons of mud\u2014one ton for everyone in the city. Slicked with motor oil, it swallowed up 14,000 treasures of Renaissance art.<\/p>\n
$\"In$
A caf\u00e9 in Florence, Italy, after the flood of 1966.<\/p><\/div>\n
The Mud Angels<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Almost immediately, volunteers showed up by the hundreds. In that pre-digital era, gli angeli del fango\u2014<\/em>“mud angels”\u2014<\/em>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, \u2018the city was already in the hands of the young\u2019.”<\/p>\n
The painstaking work of restoring art began.<\/p>\n
But the flood was not the only threat to Italy\u2019s art, says Adams. Artworks by women had long been buried by neglect. For centuries, the hidden half of Florence\u2019s artistic heritage was relegated to basements or incorrectly attributed to men.<\/p>\n
Who would undo that<\/em> damage?<\/p>\n
$\"Jane$
Jane Fortune’s book inspired the Emmy-winning documentary
Invisible Women<\/span><\/a>: Forgotten Artists of Florence<\/i>.
Photo courtesy of Advancing Women Artists<\/p><\/div>\n
Florence\u2019s Good Fortune <\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\u2019t know when, I don\u2019t know how,<\/em> but I will find a way to give something back to this city.<\/em><\/p>\n
In 2005 she got her chance.<\/p>\n
Returning to Florence as an art columnist, Fortune explored museums and was soon moved to wonder: Where are the women?<\/em> Highly visible as subjects, they were rarely seen as artists.<\/p>\n
$\"The$
Something was hidden away in a corner of San Marco, Florence.<\/p><\/div>\n
Then Fortune read about Plautilla Nelli.<\/p>\n
The first-known female Renaissance painter,\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
Yet Nelli became one of the few women included in Europe\u2019s first major art-history book, Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects<\/em> (1568).<\/p>\n
As Vasari observed, \u201cThere were so many of [Nelli\u2019s] paintings in the houses of gentlemen in Florence it would be tedious to mention them all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Praised for its raw grief, Nelli’s Lamentation with Saints<\/em> almost vanished forever.<\/p><\/div>\n
Searching for Nelli<\/h4>\n
Intrigued, Fortune sought\u00a0 Nelli\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Fortune decided then and there to commit herself to the restoration of Nelli’s work.<\/p>\n
$\"Rosella$
The discovery of Nelli’s massive, highly personal Last Supper<\/em> made global headlines.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
In the process, Fortune inspired a movement. As more people supported the effort, the number of artistic search-and-rescue missions grew.\u00a0 In 2009, Fortune founded the Advancing Women Artists Foundation.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
It’s a mission that she and AWA director Linda Falcone<\/a> have inherited from Fortune. \u201cIndiana Jane,\u201d as she was affectionately nicknamed by the Italian press, died of ovarian cancer in September 2018.<\/p>\n
A Citizen of Florence<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\u201cWhat 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\u00a0 heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosella Lari has devoted four years to restoring Nelli’s Last Supper.<\/em>
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
The Art of Making Art Visible<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Now Adams and Falcone are carrying that partnership forward, inviting us to practice the art of making women\u2019s art visible.<\/p>\n
“Restoration is not re-creation,” says Adams of the painstaking process of
revealing original work.
L: Francesco Cacchiani for AWA \/ R: \u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
AWA has restored 61 paintings and sculptures, published a dozen ground-breaking books<\/a>, and identified 2,000 forgotten artworks. The foundation is building the world\u2019s largest digital database of 15th- to 19th-century women artists.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Oh, I see<\/strong>: The hidden half of Florence, Italy’s artistic heritage is steadily coming to light.<\/p>\n
Adams (above), Falcone, and donors from 19 countries are giving new visibility
to historic women artists.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
Join the worldwide effort to save women’s artwork\u00a0here<\/a>. Follow AWA here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
*Explore Nelli’s <\/em>Last Supper, the world’s largest painting by a female Renaissance artist\u00a0**here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n*
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