TF Press and The Florentine are very proud to announce that the PBS television special INVISIBLE WOMEN was named a finalist for an Emmy in the best Historical/Cultural Program category by the regional National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

The film is based on Jane Fortune’s book Invisible Women: Forgotten Artists of Florence, published by The Florentine Press in 2009. Producer Todd Gould and Executive Producer Clayton Taylor worked together with Fortune and the Advancing Women Artists Foundation’s Executive Committee to create this five-part documentary. It spotlights a six-year quest to research, restore and exhibit of works of art by women in Florence’s museums, including feature segments on newly restored masterpieces by Baroque master Artemisia Gentileschi and the native Florentine Renaissance painter Suor Plautilla Nelli. In an effort to raise awareness regarding the need to salvage and promote works by the city’s lesser-known women artists, the documentary features preeminent restoration experts and international executives from several museums in the United States and from the Polo Museale Fiorentino.

WFYI productions filmed the documentary which included footage provided by The Florentine Press, Artemedia and Bunker Film, and coordinated by the media agency Flod. The Emmy nomination was received on April 26, just ten days after the program’s premiere screening at the US Consulate in Florence. First aired in Indianapolis on November 5, 2012, the national broadcast of Invisible Women statewide is expected this summer. Emmy winners will be announced on June 1.

To celebrate, we are offering a special price on the book – buy it here!

Watch the trailer for the documentary here.

Brandt, born 1936, is known for her cage-like sculptures, using heated steel tubing,  into which the viewer can enter or remain outside of. Active in New York, she has a ‘Florentine period’ from 2004, and her work Charion stands at Villa Cerroti Guidi in the garden. Read about her on page 77 of our book.

Already in its fourth edition, ‘Women Artists in the Vasari Corridor’ is a cultural walk created by the not-for-profit foundation Advancing Women Artists Foundation and Tuscany’s English-language publishing house, the Florentine Press. Visitors will see portraits of important sixteenth-century artists like those of Tintoretto’s daughter Maria Robusti, and Anchangela Paladini, a Medici court painter and protege of Maria Maddalena d’Austria. Seventeenth-century masters include the famed Venetian pastellist Rosalba Carriera and her Florentine counterpart Giovanna Fratellini, a lady-in-waiting to Vittoria della Rovere. Irish-born Louisa Grace Bartolini and revolutionary animalier Rosa Bonheur are two examples of the Corridor’s nineteenth-century protagonists. Twentieth-century favorates include a stunning portrait of American portraitist Cecilia LKJ and a colorful rendition of Nabis painter Elisabeth Chaplin, painted in Fiesole when the artist was in her teens.

Scheduled for 3pm on Friday, April 12, the event is led by The Florentine’s Editor-at-large Alexandra Lawrence and inspired by TF’s latest guidebook, Art by Women in Florence: A Guide through Five Hundred Years. Authors Jane Fortune and Linda Falcone will accompany this special visit, including a celebratory post-walk aperitivo in Piazza Pitti. Event also includes a copy of the book whose proceeds are given in support of restoration projects in Florence’s churches, museums and storage facilities.

Vasari Corridor tour: 3pm on Friday, April 12
Meeting point: Loggia dei Lanzi, under the statue of Perseus. 60 euro.
Reservations are required by emailing a.lawrence@theflorentine.net or calling 333/8689458

The exhibition ‘Coincidenze’ features the Florentine works of these four ‘nomadic’ artists, is an offshoot of this year’s theme at Il Palmerino: ‘City of Exile, City of Welcome’, a program calendar which explores Florence’s multicultural identity. These internationally renowned women artists have lived and worked in multiple countries (Greece, Spain, England, USA, Italy) and they explore various themes using different mediums (charcoal, watercolor, graphite, tempera and string), drawing on their multi-cultural experiences. French born artist Karine Falleni explores movement and possibilities of motion as markings leave canvas or paper to travel along a wall through a room. English-born artist Caterina Margherita creates site specific installations and cinema set designs including sets for Wim Wenders The Palermo Shooting. Greek-born Rea Stavropoulos explores the multi-faceted female identity through mythology, archetypes and reflections of modernity. British artist Lorraine Thorne uses abstracted images that are reminiscent of landscape and explores color as a spirtual experience.

Art by Women in Florence: A Guide through Five Hundred Years
April 14, 4.30pm
Villa Il Palmerino
Via del Palmerino 10, Florence

Event details

Coincidenze: Artiste in residenza  –  Exhibition April 14 to 21

Admission is free. For reservations and exhibition hours call: 3398944725 or write to associazione@palmerino.it

De Fauveau’s newly restored monument at Santa Croce

About the artist: De Fauveau was a Tuscan-born artist who lived and trained in France in the early nineteenth-century. A high-society sculptress who Stendhal called ‘a new Canova’, De Fauveau was a favorite in the French court of Charles X, and her art supported the continuity of the Bourbon Monarchy. When Louis Philippe took the French throne in 1829, De Fauveau donned a man’s political uniform and supported the Resistance Movement in Vandee, an uprising for which she was imprisoned. In 1833 the artist escaped to Florence, when she remained in voluntary exile until her death in 1886. Inspired by traditional Medieval art, she was an eccentric artist who looked to Cellini as her model. Her workshop, in Florence’s San Frediano district, brought together numerous artisans working in various mediums including bronze, marble, gold and ebony.

De Fauveau’s Florentine studio

Event details

Félicie de Fauveau: the workshop of a French woman artist in nineteenth-century Florence

Thursday, April 4, 2013  – 3.30pm-5.30pm – Santa Maria del Carmine’s Sala della Colonna

Friday, April 5, 2013  – 3.30pm-5.30pm – Santa Croce’s Sala della Colonna

Admission: Free.

Download the PDF poster

For more information, email: invisiblewomen@theflorentine.net

You’re invited to the launch of our latest book, Art by Women in Florence: Monday October 15, 2012 at noon, at the Cenacolo of Santa Croce. The authors, Jane Fortune and Linda Falcone, will be present, as will Prof. Alessio Assonitis, Director of the Medici Archive Project.

This event is open to all, no RSVP required.

The book spotlights the forerunners whose lives and works continue to be an unrevealed part of Florence’s cultural identity.

Richly illustrated and incisive, this guide marks a pathway toward female creativity in Florence – from the spiritual legacy of Renaissance convent painter Suor Plautilla Nelli to the solidarity of international contemporary women artists who donated their art to the city in an effort to replace masterpieces lost in the tragic flood of 1966.

This small book represents a far-reaching quest and an exciting invitation: the rediscovery of women artists and their formidable contributions to Florence and the world.

Table of Contents

> UPLIFTING THE SPIRIT  - Women Artists in Local Churches and Monasteries

> AMID THE MATERS – Prestige and Portraiture at the Uffizi

> PORTRAITS FOR POSTERITY – The Vasari Corridor and Self-portrayal by Women

> PALATINA PALADINS – Notable Women Artists at the Palatine Gallery

> PITTI LADIES – Forerunners at Florence’s Gallery of Modern Art

> ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME – Central Spots and Varied Mediums

> IN MEDICI COUNTRY – Art by Women on the Outskirts of Florence

> DISCOVERING HIDDEN TREASURES – A selection of Unexhibited Works in Florence

Publication date: First Edition October 2012

Art by women is a largely undiscovered part of the city’s heritage—why not change that?

At 12pm on Monday, October 15, 2012 there will be the presentation of a new book published by The Florentine Press called Art by Women in Florence: A Guide to Five Hundred Years, by Jane Fortune and Linda Falcone. It’s pocket guide to women artists, spotlighting where to find their works in the city’s art venues. We are aiming to invite art lovers, art historians, professors, guides and cultural administrators–to whom we hope the book will prove a hands-on resource. Attendance is free and no RSVP is required.

3pm on Friday, October 19, 2012, AWA and The Florentine Press is organizing a tour called ‘Women Artists in the Vasari Corridor’.

Wander the halls of the Vasari Corridor on an unforgettable tour, accompanied by the authors and specialized art historians. Experience one of the world’s most renowned collections and discover the ‘hidden half’ of Florence’s creative genius: Art by Women.

Because the tour is part of a awareness raising campaign focused on art by women in Florence, we’ve tried to keep the cost as reasonable as possible.
The 60-euro fee includes:

• admission to the Uffizi and Vasari Corridor for a tour with Art by Women in Florence authors and art historians specialized in Women Artists in the Age of the Medici
• a copy of the book, which you can have signed on the spot by the authors
• post-tour aperitivo

To participate in the Vasari Corridor Tour, write to invisiblewomen@theflorentine.net or call +39 320 7078258

About Wine Town

Wine Town Firenze is an international event gathers the top wine makers of Tuscany, giving visitors the opportunity to taste and savour wines from one of the best wine-producing regions in the world. And not only wine: music, workshops, exhibits and theatre bring the Renaissance city alive.

The events will unfold in the historic and beautiful piazzas, palazzos, gardens, museums and cloisters of Florence, from Palazzo Pitti and the Loggia del Grano, to the Bargello and Palazzo Vecchio.

Emphasis is being placed on drinking responsibly, or being Drinkaware, and the rediscovery of ancient values ​​of conviviality.

The tastings work on a ‘WineCard’ system: buy the 15 euro card from one of the many kiosks around town, which entitles you to 5 points worth of tastings. For a second round, the card can be recharged for only 10 euro. The card can also be bought from Conad supermarkets in Tuscany at the discounted price of 13 euro, or online from www.winetown.it.

There will be a choice of over 100 wines to savour, including some organic varieties, presented by sommeliers and vineyard owners from all over Italy. Don’t just drink, but embark on a journey of discovery. Why did the last wine taste sweet and this one dry? Why is this one darker than the other? Which grapes are used and how are they prepared? What should I eat with this and why? How has winemaking changed in Tuscany over the years?

Don’t miss the host of theatrical and musical events on offer over the two days. At Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni mime genius Chris Channing will perform ‘Living Pictures’, in which 2D portraits are brought to life. At Palazzo Nonfinito, the contortionist ‘Miss Arina’ combines traditional circus acts with rhythmic gymnastics. Palazzo Guicciardini is putting on a show where music acts as a thread or soundtrack on which characters move creating a series of sketches, and the dances and music of North India will be brought to Palazzo Davanzati by ‘Damaru: The Colors of the Dance’.

Jazz, jam sessions, classical quartets and bands will also help bring to life Palazzo Pitti, Palazzo Vecchio, the Oblate, the Bargello and Palazzo Corsini.

While they might not be great wine connoisseurs, kids will also find plenty to entertain them during the two days, including Vinopoli, an educational game of skill, intuition and creative multimedia on the origins and making of wine.

How to win a WineCard

The Florentine is, as you know, present both online and on paper. We want to keep in touch with you on ALL our digital channels – did you know we have a bi-weekly newsletter AND a Foursquare page? Yeah!

So. Here’s how the giveaway works. For each of the actions below, you will get ONE ENTRY.

• Comment on this blog post telling us how much you love Wine Town, or alternately, how much you love The Florentine!! You MUST use the comment form by inserting your name and email address – do not comment using facebook or twitter because then we can’t write to you if you win! Do not write your email address in the body of your message. (1 entry) — If you do any of the actions below, hang on to that comment cuz you’re going to have to tell us how many entries you get
• Share this blog post on facebook (1 entry)
• share this blog post on twitter (1 entry)
• become a fan of The Florentine on facebook, if you’re not already one (1 entry)
• follow The Florentine on twitter, if you don’t already (1 entry)
• sign up for our Newsletter, if you don’t already get it (1 entry) – Subscribe to our newsletter with this link
• follow us on Foursquare for fun tips about the city (1 entry)

In your comment, let us know which of these actions you have done, and tally up your entries for us (we can count, no saying you deserve 800 entries!).

We’re taking submissions until Wednesday September 19 at midnight, Italy time.

We will email the winners, and passes will be held for you to pick up directly at Wine Town.