The Florentine Press’s groundbreaking publication Invisible Women: Forgotten Artists of Florence, written by The Florentine’s cultural editor Jane Fortune in 2009, has inspired a documentary to be aired on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States.
Invisible Women | Photo by The Florentine Press
Created to spotlight state-of-the-art restoration and explore the lives and works of Florence’s women artists, the documentary was produced by WFYI Studios in Indianapolis. It brings together top art historians, museum executives and restoration artists from Italy and the United States.
‘The production of Invisible Women: Forgotten Artists of Florence presented itself as an irresistible opportunity. Here, we have the chance to tell the story of remarkable women over the span of centuries who created masterpieces in defiance of the norms of their time and focus on the quest of dedicated women who are devoted to preserving the legacy of these great artists for future generations,’ said Clayton Taylor, vice president of production at WFYI.
The documentary showcases the women whose works populate Florentine museums, including Artemisia Gentileschi, Suor Plautilla Nelli, Irene Parenti Duclos and Maria Hadfield Cosway. ‘As we worked to write, shoot and edit this production, these artists’ contributions to the social and cultural landscape of their era impressed me as much as their vibrant works,’ said the program’s producer and scriptwriter, Todd Gould. ‘It was equally intriguing to watch as a group of modern “art detectives” put together many hidden clues from the past to help restore these works to their original beauty.’
The documentary premiered on television in Indianapolis on November 5 at 7:30pm and will be shown again on November 10 at 6:30pm. It will subsequently be aired throughout the United States during the fall. To learn more about the program’s broadcast schedule, write to invisiblewomen@theflorentine.net
