The naked painting

An extraordinary oil painting by the Baroque woman painter Artemisia Gentileschi is under restoration before being presented for an exhibition.

The masterpiece, entitled 'Allegory of Inclination' was commissioned to celebrate one of Italy's most acclaimed artistic geniuses, Michelangelo Buonarroti, by his great-nephew. The artwork was given pride of place on the ceiling of the Florentine Michelangelo palazzo in 1616.

An assumed self-portrait of the then 22 year old, Gentileschi depicted a female nude nestling in clouds but 60 years down the line, a male descendant of Michelangelo decided its blatant nudity was too explicit for the sensibilities of his wife and offspring. He had a second artist cover the woman's flesh with swirling blue veils.

Although conservators like Elizabeth Wicks have made the decision to preserve the additions for fear of damaging the work, digital and X-ray analysis will be undertaken to disclose Gentileschi's original oeuvre.

Elizabeth Wicks: "As we say in Italian "è stato rivoltato come un guanto", it's been turned inside out like a glove with all of the diagnostic techniques possible to understand how the painting was conceived, how it was painted, what happened to it afterwards and to see if we can read beneath the veils of censorship that were added to the painting."

A trailblazing artist, Gentileschi was an anomaly for her time, as recognised female artists were a rarity. Blessed with enviable skill, her work was both sought after and lucrative - her fees were considerably higher than her male counterparts.

Co-ordinating the restoration, Linda Falcone also praises Gentileschi's business acumen.

Linda Falcone: "The idea is to create a conversation around art by women, the fact that they were protagonists in their time. They had to be not only great painters but great diplomats. She had to know how to market herself, and that's what she's actually doing with the painting because not only is she tributing Michelangelo but she's saying, 'I as a woman have the inclination to paint'."

For Falcone, the project's significant vis-à-vis the exploration of women's vital contributions to art.

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