Florence, Italy, the cradle of the Renaissance, gave rise to some of the world's most celebrated artists, architects and scientists, including Michelangelo, Brunelleschi and Galileo. Yet, little is known of the city's trailblazing female artists. The Emmy®-winning INVISIBLE WOMEN sheds light on the lives and works of these largely forgotten Renaissance-era painters, revealing the "hidden half" of one of the world's most beloved art cities. Infrared reflectography and other high-tech equipment assists a dedicated group of artists, historians, restorers and museum executives as they remove centuries of decay and bring precious pieces of art history — salvaged from storage facilities throughout Italy — back to life. Cameras chart this painstaking process of reconstruction, restoration, preservation and conservation of two works, “Lamentation With Saints” by Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), a cloistered nun and the first known female painter of Florence, and "David and Bathsheba," by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653).
"Invisible Women: Forgotten Artists of Florence" airs on Tuesday at 8:30 pm
