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A graphic study of reflectology performed on the San Salvi work and its Assisi counterpart.
Reflecting new research
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Conservation is a bridge between art and science. A study in reflectography comparing Nelli's San Salvi Saint Catherine with a Lily proves restoration is not solely an artisanal craft but a research science as well. Graphics obtained from reflectology allows researches to carry out comparative studies between multiple underdrawings. Nelli paintings have been found in Fiesole, Perugia, Siena and Prato…as well as in Florence’s Monastery of San Marco (which still hosts monks today). Nelli’s order lived across the street in the ‘female’ branch of San Marco and it appears that art was transferred between them! These discoveries by Fausta Navarro, inspired AWA to take action. They are 'sister' paintings to Nelli's small Saint Catherine with a Lily at San Salvi which AWA restored in 2013. Uffizi Director Eike Schmidt calls Nelli a precursor of Andy Warhol, because of her Saint Catherine series! Can you see it? In this photograph, note that Nelli's San Salvi painting is being compared to its nearly-identical counterpart from Assisi. This research underlines the mobility of Renaissance convent art though the ages!