Irene Parenti Duclos. A Work Restored, An Artist Revealed. un' Opera Restaurata un'Artista Rivelata

Irene Parenti Duclos (c. 1754-1795) was active as a painter in Florence from 1773 to 1793. The restoration of one of her masterpieces has provided an opportunity to take a closer look at the artist, her time, and her art. The Advancing Women Artists Foundation (AWA) has sponsored the restoration of the large painting by Duclos that is a copy of Andrea del Sarto's Madonna del Sacco in the Church of Santissima Annunziata in Florence. The large canvas by Duclos is just 8 centimeters smaller than the fresco by Andrea del Sarto, and, as Rosella Lari demonstrates, was executed by the artist actually climbing up scaffolding (a rare feat for an 18th-century woman), tracing the original onto transluscent paper, and painting while still perched high up in the cloister of the church. In this way, the copy is very faithful. This book provides an art-historical context for Duclos's painting and presents the results of the restoration. Annarita Caputo contextualizes Duclos's practise within contemporary methods and tastes that prioritized copying; Sheila Barker explores the artist's patronage and the historical circumstances of her masterpiece; Jane Fortune looks at other female artists in Florence and the challenges they faced, both in the past and now, for visibility.