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Rediscovering Plautilla Bricci, Rome’s First Professional Woman Architect

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Author: Karen Chernick
Source/Credit: Artnet News — artnet.com

Plautilla Bricci was a prominent Baroque architect and painter, long overlooked in art history, whose work is now gaining renewed attention thanks to a major restoration initiative led by the nonprofit organization Artemisia Gold.

For visitors to Rome’s Church of San Luigi dei Francesi — famous for housing three Caravaggio masterpieces — the third chapel on the left might be familiar. That chapel, dedicated to San Luigi IX, was designed by Plautilla Bricci (1616–1705), a Baroque artist who remains unique in history as both an accomplished painter and Italy’s first professional woman architect.

Now, a new restoration project aims to bring heightened recognition to another significant work by Bricci: her painting Birth of the Virgin (ca. 1660), located in the first chapel on the right in the Church of Santa Maria in Campo Marzio. The large-scale canvas, depicting a crowded interior scene of the newborn Virgin attended by midwives while Saint Anne looks upward toward angels, has become the focus of Artemisia Gold’s conservation efforts.

“It is so dirty that we really have to start with the X-rays and then the cleaning work to discover what’s underneath,” said Jane Adams, co-founder and CEO of Artemisia Gold, underscoring both the challenges and the importance of the project. The restoration team — including art restorer Lorenza M.G. D’Alessandro, technical art historian Beatrice de Ruggieri, and art historian Marco Coppolaro — hopes not only to conserve the painting, but also to uncover more about its origins and commission. No visible signature remains on the canvas, so researchers are looking for other marks that may confirm Bricci’s authorship.

Bricci was a multitalented artist active in the mid-17th century. In addition to painting, she worked as an architect, sculptor, and even musician — remarkable roles for a woman in her time. Daughter of the artist Giovanni Bricci, she trained in his workshop and cultivated important artistic connections that propelled her career. During her peak creative period in her fifties, Bricci received support from patrons such as Abbot Elpidio Benedetti, which enabled her to take on ambitious projects and prestigious commissions.

The Birth of the Virgin restoration is part of a broader effort by Artemisia Gold to highlight historically significant works by women artists that have been neglected or forgotten. Previous restoration achievements by the nonprofit include work on paintings by Artemisia Gentileschi and Plautilla Nelli, positioning Bricci’s rediscovery within a growing movement to reclaim women’s contributions to art history.

Artemisia Gold Launches Internationally

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Published in:The Florentine
Issue: Year XXII, March 2026, Issue 331 – The Women’s Issue
Author: The Florentine Editorial Team
Source Credit: Reproduced from The Florentine, March 2026
PDF: View full article (Issue 331)

Artemisia Gold, Inc. has officially launched as a 501(c)(3) global nonprofit working in the United States, the UK and Europe to expand the mission of Artemisia Gold UK. Founded in 2020 by Jane Adams, who serves as president and CEO, the organization’s board includes vice president Susan Glimcher, executive director and advisor Mark Smith, as well as directors Susan Angelastro, Kiki Keating, Josephine Porciatti and Giovanni Porciatti.

Born from years of restoration work in Italy, Artemisia Gold is dedicated to reviving the legacy of long-forgotten artists, with a focus on women artists whose contributions have been obscured or overlooked for centuries. Through research, restoration and educational programs, the organization brings lost masterpieces and the stories behind them back into public view, ensuring that these paintings will be visible and their authors recognized.

“I am delighted to announce this important step for Artemisia Gold, Inc., which allows us to expand our mission across America, Europe and the UK,” remarks Jane Adams. “Throughout history, many artists have faced obstacles that led to their work being forgotten, misattributed or overlooked. Our role is to uncover this vital, forgotten artistic heritage and ensure these artists’ true stories are finally told.”

Over the past five years, Artemisia Gold has made significant strides, including publishing an in-depth analytical study of Artemisia Gentileschi’s Madonna and Child in collaboration with the Galleria Spada in Rome, and restoring another Gentileschi masterpiece, Sinite Parvulos Venire (Let the Children Come to Me), from the Church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome. This project was directed by Adams and made possible by the generous donation of fellow board member Mark Smith. These milestones reflect Artemisia Gold’s dedication to preserving and illuminating important works of art for a global audience.

In 2024, to celebrate the 500th birthday of Florence’s first recognized female artist, Suor Plautilla Nelli, Artemisia Gold co-sponsored and directed the restoration of two of her works: the monumental altarpiece Madonna of the Rosary in the Church of San Giuseppe and Santa Lucia in Montaione, and the panel Mother and Child with Saint Dominique, Saint Catherine, and Saint Agnes from a private Florentine collection. A Dominican nun and largely self-taught Renaissance painter, Nelli created exceptional art that was admired by her contemporaries. She also ran a thriving workshop at her convent overseeing the production of religious paintings and sculptures by her sister nuns. Her legacy, long overlooked, has gained increased recognition thanks to the rediscovery and restoration of her paintings.

In 2026, Artemisia Gold is embarking on its most ambitious chapter to date, launching two significant restoration projects that continue its mission to bring historically important works and the women who created them back into the light. The first, to be announced imminently, centres on a remarkable altarpiece by Plautilla Bricci, the pioneering 17th-century painter and Rome’s first female architect.

The organization will soon announce a new restoration project and launch an international art council program with distinguished honorary chairs Mary Garrard, Catherine Turrill-Lupi, Catherine Loewe and Siân Walters.

American art collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt have also agreed to support the program. Bennett and Schmidt, who only collect works by women painters, are the founders of The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters and are the namesakes of the newly opened Bennett Schmidt Pavilion at the Muskegon Museum of Art in Muskegon, Michigan. Bennett and Schmidt are also committed to the conservation and restoration of works by Renaissance and Baroque painters. Accordingly, their collection contains paintings attributed to Plautilla Nelli, Artemisia Gentileschi and Diana de Rosa as well as works by contemporary women painters.

The School of Hibernia comes to Rome for St Brigid’s Day

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The collective behind the project, Na Cailleacha — an Irish term meaning “witch,” “divine hag,” or “wise woman” — consists of six visual artists, jazz musician Carole Nelson, and curator-writer Catherine Marshall. The group came together to explore themes of female creativity, ageing, and visibility in the arts.

Curator Catherine Marshall explained the motivation behind the work:

“We talk about the visibility of women a lot in the visual arts and are rightly critical of the art historical canon. Raphael’s School of Athens fresco is a powerful illustration of how pervasive patriarchy is in all aspects of life. Na Cailleacha decided to bring living women together to celebrate all the ways in which they have challenged history in a fun and provocative way. Response to the project has been extraordinary since it was announced in 2024, and we are now delighted to be presenting the work in Rome – the home of The School of Athens.”

Symposium and screening

The Rome symposium featured a distinguished panel of speakers, including Catherine Marshall; Professor Arnold Nesselrath, art historian and former Deputy Director of the Vatican Museum Collections; Caroline Campbell, the first woman director of the National Gallery of Ireland; Professor Rachel Moss of Trinity College Dublin; and Professor Emma Teeling of University College Dublin.

Reflecting on the project’s impact, Professor Rachel Moss said:

“The School of Hibernia marks a moment in female achievement that would have been inconceivable at the start of Na Cailleacha’s careers. This play on the patriarchal canon of art history is now on display in several universities and is still enjoying international publicity. For students about to embark on their own careers, it is a celebratory reminder that the shoulders of giants are no longer all male.”

The event concluded with the premiere of Rootstock: The Making of The School of Hibernia (after Raphael), a documentary by Therry Rudin, screened at Cinema Farnese Arthouse in Campo de’ Fiori.

Celebrating St Brigid’s Day

Ireland’s Ambassador to Italy, Elizabeth McCullough, welcomed the project’s arrival in Rome:

“The Embassy of Ireland is proud to support Na Cailleacha and Ireland-Italy Projects in bringing this thought-provoking work to Rome, the home of Raphael. St Brigid’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to highlight and celebrate the many achievements of women in Ireland and around the world. This event allows us to reflect on the significant progress attained since The School of Athens was created, and the important work that remains to ensure full equality for women in today’s world.”

Ireland-Italy Projects, founded in 2024 by Brenda Moore-McCann and Jane Adams, collaborated on the Rome presentation. Speaking about the initiative, they said:

“We are enthusiastic about a project that vividly contrasts Irish contemporary culture with an icon of Italy’s Renaissance.”

St Brigid’s Day, celebrated annually on 1 February, became Ireland’s newest public holiday in 2023, honouring the country’s female patron saint and the traditional beginning of spring.

More about Ireland-Italy Projects

Ireland-Italy Projects was founded by Brenda Moore-McCann and Jane Adams in 2024 to promote cultural exchange between Ireland and Italy. Their first event introduced the historically neglected Renaissance artist Suor Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588) to an Irish audience in Trinity College Dublin in 2024. For further information contact jane@artemisiagold.org or brendamooremccann@gmail.com

Photo: The School of Hibernia (after Raphael), 2024. Credit: Na Cailleacha.

Read the full Article Here: Wanted In Rome | Ireland.ie

Artemisia Gold, Inc. Launches in the United States to Champion Forgotten Female Artists

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Washington, D.C. United States

Born from years of restoration work in Italy, Artemisia Gold is dedicated to reviving the legacy of long-forgotten artists, with a focus on female artists whose contributions have been obscured or forgotten for centuries. Through research, restoration, and educational programs, the organization brings lost masterpieces and the stories behind them back into public view. It is our goal to ensure that these paintings will be visible and their authors recognized after this work.

“I am delighted to announce this important step for Artemisia Gold, Inc., which allows us to expand our mission across America, Europe, and the UK. Throughout history, many artists have faced obstacles that led to their work being forgotten, misattributed, or overlooked. Our role is to uncover this vital, forgotten artistic heritage and ensure these artists’ true stories are finally told.”
— Jane Adams, Founder and President, Artemisia Gold

Over the past five years, Artemisia Gold has made significant strides, including publishing an in-depth analytical study of Artemisia Gentileschi’s Madonna and Child in collaboration with the Galleria Spada in Rome, and restoring another Gentileschi masterpiece, Sinite Parvulos Venire (Let the Children Come to Me), from the Church of San Carlo al Corso, Rome. This project was directed by Adams and made possible by the generous donation of fellow Board Member Mark Smith. These milestones reflect Artemisia’s Gold’s dedication to preserving and illuminating important works of art for a global audience.

In 2024, to celebrate the 500th birthday of Florence’s first recognized female artist, Suor Plautilla Nelli, Artemisia Gold co-sponsored and directed the restoration of two of her works: the monumental altarpiece Madonna of the Rosary in the Church of San Giuseppe and Santa Lucia in Montaione, and the panel Mother and Child with Saint Dominique, Saint Catherine, and Saint Agnes from a private Florentine collection. A Dominican nun and largely self-taught Renaissance painter, Nelli created exceptional art that was admired by her contemporaries. She also ran a thriving workshop at her convent overseeing the production of religious paintings and sculptures by her sister nuns. Her legacy, long overlooked, has gained increased recognition thanks to the rediscovery and restoration of her paintings.

Looking Ahead: Restoration Projects for 2026

Artemisia Gold is embarking on its most ambitious chapter to date, launching two significant restoration projects that continue its mission to bring historically important works and the women who created them back into the light. The first, to be announced imminently, centers on a remarkable altarpiece by Plautilla Bricci, the pioneering 17th-century painter and Rome’s first female architect.

Adams believes American audiences, known for their deep appreciation of art and cultural history, will be inspired to rediscover these artists, celebrate their achievements, and help restore long-overlooked masterpieces to public view.

Coming Soon

The organization will soon announce a new restoration project and launch an International Art Council program with distinguished honorary chairs Mary Garrard, Catherine Turrill-Lupi, Catherine Loewe, and Sian Walters.

American art collectors, Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, have also agreed to support the program. Bennett and Schmidt, who collect only works by women painters, are the founders of The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters and are the namesakes of the newly opened Bennett Schmidt Pavilion at the Muskegon Museum of Art in Muskegon, Michigan. Bennett and Schmidt are also committed to the conservation and restoration of works by Renaissance and Baroque painters. Accordingly, their collection contains paintings attributed to Plautilla Nelli, Artemisia Gentileschi and Diana de Rosa as well as works by contemporary women painters.

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The Journey Of Renaissance Women Through Italy’s Hidden Artistic History

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In this powerful episode of Speaking of Travel, host Marilyn Ball is joined by Jane Adams—art historian, former Director of Partnership Relations for Advancing Women Artists, and now CEO of Artemisia Gold. Together, they uncover the hidden legacy of Italy’s forgotten women artists.

What begins as a tribute to the vision of Jane Fortune becomes a deep and moving conversation about justice, memory, and reclaiming history. Jane Adams shares remarkable stories of discovery, from dust-covered altarpieces to long-neglected portraits, revealing how these works—once buried in basements and storerooms—are being restored and reintroduced into the cultural spotlight.

With insight, urgency, and warmth, Jane speaks about the artists behind the brush, the battles to restore their works, and the emotional resonance of seeing them finally honored. She also introduces an unforgettable art pilgrimage across Italy, co-led with travel expert Kiki Keating, inviting travelers to walk in the footsteps of these Renaissance women and witness their art firsthand.

This is more than a podcast—it’s a call to see what history has overlooked and to honor the women who dared to create in silence. Tune in for a journey through art, advocacy, and awe.

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Restoration of Madonna del Rosario by Plautilla Nelli

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Born in 1524, Plautilla Nelli was a Dominican nun at the Florentine Convent of Santa Caterina da Siena, Florence, a largely self-taught artist who gained popularity for her emotionally resonant religious works. Madonna del Rosario, one of her most beautiful pieces, demonstrates her mastery in conveying devotional subjects with vivid detail and emotive expression. Although Plautilla’s art was celebrated and collected by her contemporaries, it was not until the 2000’s that her accomplishments as a Renaissance painter and workshop administrator began to receive widespread recognition from modern viewers. 

Fausta Navarro, historian and curator of the 2017 Plautilla Nelli exhibition at the Uffizi Gallery discovered the Montaione altarpiece while doing research in 2016. She was the first person to attribute it to Plautilla. Catherine Turrill-Lupi, historian and Professor Emerita at California State University, Sacramento, has studied this painting and other paintings by Plautilla and her ‘Bottega’ that also have come to light recently.  

Under the guidance of Anna Floridia, with the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the metropolitan city of Florence and the provinces of Pistoia and Prato, a team of experts used a full range of careful diagnostics, analysis, and preservation techniques to uncover the original vibrancy and details of the painting. The restoration process was led by Florentine restorer Rossella Lari. The CNR National Institute of Optics provided crucial technical support for the diagnostic phase. 

Special recognition goes to the sponsors who made this restoration possible:
Main Sponsor: Tenuta di Castelfalfi S.p.A.
Other Sponsors: Banca Cambiano 1884 S.p.A., Bi.Bru s.r.l and Jane Adams of Artemisia Gold CIC.
We also thank Marina Calamai, De’Bardi Restaurant and Enoteca and Alessandro Bini s.r.l. as Sponsors of activities to promote the restoration.

Plautilla’s Madonna del Rosario is installed in the Church of San Giuseppe and Santa Lucia, Montaione, which was built in 1562 for a group of local women determined to create a sanctuary of faith. Remarkably, the altarpiece remains in its original frame, which has also been carefully restored as part of this project.

For the Mayor of Montaione Paolo Pomponi, “the restoration of the Madonna of the Rosary attributed to Plautilla Nelli represents the crowning achievement of an intervention to safeguard and enhance one of the most precious jewels of Montaione’s cultural heritage, strongly desired by the Municipal Administration. Made possible thanks to the economic contribution of some local sponsors, whom we sincerely thank for helping us to realize a project that was initially thought to be too difficult to accomplish.” “We are even more proud,“ the mayor reiterates, ‘’because this project involves a work of art located in the church of Saints Joseph and Lucy (known to the locals as ’church of the nuns”), a place that has always been very dear to the citizens and that today, after this careful restoration, sees it return to its original splendor’’.

The unveiling ceremony was followed by a short presentation about the restoration process and a guided examination of the painting, offering attendees the opportunity to learn more about Plautilla’s artistry, the historical significance of the painting, and the meticulous efforts that went into its recent restoration. A presentation that represents not only the restoration of a resplendent work of art but also a celebration of the unsung female artists of the Renaissance. Plautilla Nelli’s achievements, and those of other female artists in Florence, continue to inspire today, thanks to the dedication efforts of scholars, restorers, and philanthropists working together to save and highlight their forgotten contributions.

For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
Ufficio Cultura del Comune di Montaione
Tel: + 39 0571 699205
Email: cultura@comune.montaione.fi.it

Jane Adams
Tel: +39 335 7310664
Email: jane@artemisiagold.org

Event Details:
Date: December 14, 2024
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: Chiesa dei SS. Giuseppe e Lucia, Piazza del Municipio, Montaione

About Plautilla Nelli – Plautilla Nelli (1524–1588) was a Dominican nun and one of the first known female painters in Florence during the Renaissance. Her works, which include Madonna del Rosario, are celebrated for their devotional intensity and technical brilliance. More of her works can be found in Florence (Museum of San Marco, Museum of the Cenacolo di Andrea del Sarto, Uffizi Gallery, Museum of Palazzo Vecchio), Fiesole, Siena, Perugia, Assisi, Utrecht and USA. Her most important accomplishment is her masterpiece Last Supper that was restored by Rossella Lari and unveiled in 2019, a project funded by Jane Fortune and Advancing Women Artists. The painting is now at the Museum of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.  Plautilla’s legacy as a pioneering female artist in a male-dominated field is only now being recognized, thanks to the restoration of her works and scholarly efforts to highlight her contribution to Renaissance art.

About Artemisia Gold CIC – Artemisia Gold is a UK-based not-for-profit working globally, dedicated to reviving the love and appreciation for art through education, restoration, and immersive experiences. Founder Jane Adams, who worked with Jane Fortune and the Advancing Women Artists Foundation (closed after Fortune’s passing in 2018) strives to continue her quest. The mission is simple but powerful: to rediscover, research, and restore overlooked masterpieces, with a special focus on female artists throughout history. Offering unique opportunities for students, professionals, and art lovers to explore European art from the 1200s onward. Our work not only saves important, neglected artworks but also elevates the voices of forgotten female artists who deserve recognition. We collaborate with leading institutions, museums, churches, and scholars and form global partnerships to ensure our restoration projects are world-class and impactful. Artemisia Gold also fosters a thriving international community of students, scholars, and professionals by providing access to lectures, workshops, and events that enhance their understanding of art history and restoration. We’re committed to nurturing the next generation of art historians and restorers through hands-on opportunities.

2024, in celebration of Plautilla Nelli’s 500th Birthday Anniversary, Artemisia Gold is honoured to have participated in two restoration projects of paintings by Plautilla Nelli, including the beautiful Montaione altarpiece and a small panel painting of The Madonna and Child with Saint Dominic, Saint Catherine and Sant’Agnes. Artemisia Gold also hosted events and lectures in Florence at the Museum of Santa Maria Novella, Museum of San Marco, Biennale, Palazzo Corsini, Palazzo Tornabuoni as well as a special invitation to host a symposium at the Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. 

2025 will see ongoing initiatives surrounding Plautilla Nelli and the presentation of a new publication about Artemisia Gentileschi and two of her most loved works: Mother and Child and Santa Cecilia at the Spada Gallery in Rome. 

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Leonardo4Children 2024 “From Leonardo to Puccini”

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The annual Leonardo4Children Awards Ceremony and charity concert, “From Leonardo to Puccini,” was a resounding success on October 4, 2024, in Brussels, bringing together 550 enthusiastic participants.

The concert showcased the remarkable talents of young singers from Lycée Francais Jean Monnet and European School Brussels IV, alongside a captivating theatre performance of “Le Piccole Canaglie.” We were also thrilled to feature exceptional professional musicians, including Sara Barakat, Olga Artemenko, Phaedra Pribilla, Valentina Volpe Andreazza, Bruno Ispiola, and Laurent Beeckmans.

This event would not have been possible without the support of our partners and the active participation of our attendees. Together, we raised over €3,000 for young people in need in Belgium through the Boost for Talents project of the King Baudouin Foundation. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this meaningful cause!

Celebrating Plautilla’s 500°

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For the first time, the painting by Plautilla Nelli “Madonna and Child with Saint Dominic, Saint Catherine, and Saint Agnes” (private collection) was exhibited to the public after being restored by advanced students of the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute.

A Renaissance figure and one of the first recognized female artists in Florence, Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588) entered the convent in 1538 at the age of 14, becoming a Dominican nun at the now non-existent Santa Caterina da Siena convent on Via Larga (today Via Cavour). Within the convent walls, Nelli managed to conquer cultural spaces that were then forbidden to most women, thanks to her art. Heir to the school of San Marco and Fra’ Bartolomeo, she was also an entrepreneur avant la lettre, establishing her own workshop within the convent, which involved her fellow sisters in the creation of artworks. Thrice prioress of the convent and in relationships with noble and bourgeois Florentine families, she created an art workshop On the occasion of the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Plautilla Nelli, the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute pays homage to the Florentine artist through a diagnostic study and restoration project dedicated to her and with a thematic area set up in her honor within the exhibition “Nutrire il Futuro – Nurturing the Future” (May 11, 2024), at the Sala Brunelleschi of the Istituto degli Innocenti. composed of her fellow sisters, even being mentioned by Vasari in his “Lives”. Plautilla Nelli painted “so many pictures for the homes of Florentine gentlemen that it would be too long to talk about them all.”

An extremely important statement that inspired the research of the artist’s works by Jane Adams, co-founder of Caravaggio & Company and project supervisor of this restoration initiative for the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute. In her words: “To sum up Nelli and her great achievements as a female artist I would like to quote Jane Fortune, whose mission and love for Nelli I share – ‘Once you get involved with Nelli, once she gets in your soul, she’s with you everyday.”

Carla Guarducci, the president and CEO of the Institute commented on the project with the following words: “I am pleased to promote an initiative that enhances the activity of the Renaissance painter, Plautilla Nelli. Little known to most, she is an artist who is important to remember. Having entered the convent at a very young age, she managed to create through art and the sharing of artistic knowledge a creative and therefore, in a sense, free space, in a world where this freedom was denied to most women.”

Rediscovering Plautilla – A Multidisciplinary Journey: As part of the series of initiatives promoted in honor of the 500th anniversary of Plautilla’s birth by the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute, students from the Historical Painting course (ancient and traditional painting techniques), from the Etching course (etching techniques), and students from the advanced Jewelry Design course were inspired by the work and life of this artist to create a series of works dedicated to her, and are on display today.

Thanks to / Grazie a
RESTORATION PROJECT
Coordinator: Professor Roberta Lapucci
Project Supervisor: Jane Adams
Advanced Restoration Students: Aashika Jain, William Johnson, and Rylie Severino
The project is carried out in collaboration with Dr. Catherine Turrill-Lupi, Prof. Emeritus, California State University; Trisha Dalke, University of Amsterdam.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT
Printmaking Project: Coordinated by Professor Lucy Jochamowitz
Artworks by Etching Students: Amanda Nessel; Analucia Paez Munoz; Charlotte Allsbrook; Evelyn Benitez Suarez; Girjia Jhalani; Katherine Holland; Linn Roos; Nisa Acan
Historical Painting Project:Coordinated by Professor Gregory Burney
Artworks by Historical Painting Students: Analucia Paez Munoz; Audrey Price; Conor Glesner; Emma Oeberg;
Hailey Clements; Juliana Kish; Kathryn Mcanulty; Kayla Parsons; Marlee Lord; Mauryne Audige; Sofia Piliero; Sophia Quinn; Hannah Wogalter ; Alexandra Coscioni; Grace Handy
Jewelry Design Project: Coordinated by Professors Yoko Shimizu and Francesco Coda
Jewelry Students:Charlotte Allsbrook; Madeline Ambrosino; Lily Baxter; Joel Georgii; Maya Jacobs; Thu Luu; Eden MacMillan; Laura Valades; Paola Valdez;

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Plautilla Nelli, 500 years after her birth, the Lorenzo de’Medici Institute plays tribute to the Artist on International Women’s Day

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On International Women’s Day, the Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici was pleased to promote a project that brought new attention to the painter Plautilla Nelli. Within the walls of the convent of Santa Caterina da Siena in Florence, Nelli worked to create her art in new cultural spaces, conquering realms of freedom denied to most women.

A disciple of the artistic traditions of San Marco and painter Fra’ Bartolomeo (1472 –1517), Plautilla Nelli was also a pioneering entrepreneur. She established her own workshop within the convent, involving her fellow sisters in creating works of art.

Serving as the Prioress of the convent three times, she established an art workshop with her fellow sisters, earning mention by Giorgio Vasari in his ‘Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects.’ (Second edition 1568).

According to Vasari, Plautilla Nelli, who many noble families appreciated, painted ”so many artworks for the houses of Florentine gentlemen that it would be too lengthy to discuss them all.”

In Jane Adams’ words, summing up Nelli and her remarkable achievements as a female artist: ‘To quote Jane Fortune, whose mission and love for Nelli I share, “once you get involved with Nelli, once she enters your soul, she’s with you every day.’”

This restoration initiative by the Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici paid tribute to the Florentine Renaissance painter Plautilla Nelli,” stated Alessia Bettini, deputy mayor and cultural affairs councilor of the Municipality of Florence. “It contributes to rectifying artistic justice for an extraordinary figure on the occasion of the quincentenary of her birth, preserving the artistic heritage that binds us to the past and inspiring future generations. It is also a new opportunity to deepen our understanding of the contribution of women in Renaissance art.”

“I am pleased to inaugurate a project that values the activity of the Renaissance painter Plautilla Nelli,” comments Carla Guarducci, President and CEO of the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute. “Little known to many, she is an artist who is important to remember, especially on Women’s Rights Day. Despite entering the convent at a young age, she was able to create, through art and the sharing of artistic knowledge, a creative and, in a sense, liberated space in a world where such freedom was denied to women.”

The project aimed not only to restore Plautilla Nelli’s artwork but also to shed light on her contributions as a female artist during the Renaissance, providing a platform for a more profound understanding of the role of women in art history and to preserve cultural heritage and promote by acknowledging the achievements of women in the arts.

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Bringing Renaissance Masterpieces By Women Artists Out Of Museum Basements

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Listen now on Speaking of Travel®

Jane explains how meeting Jane Fortune and Advancing Women Artists led to one of the most recent examples of lost art and also one of the most impressive. Sister Plautilla Nelli’s (1524-1588) The Last Supper is the only known depiction of Christ’s last meal by a female artist in the pre-modern age.

The self-taught artist’s massive canvas—about 21 feet long and 7 feet high—is one of the largest works by a woman artist of the pre-modern era in the entire world. Though women were banned from studying anatomy, Nelli defied the conventions of the time by taking on a theme reserved for male artists and creating 13 life-size male figures.

There are still so many questions and Jane helps clarify why some of these works were never considered masterpieces. A movement is happening now around Italy’s women’s art restoration and Jane will bring you into a history that is not just restoring the works of art, but also restoring women’s place in art history. Over the past 10 years, over 70 works of art are now restored.

When you think about it, art has always been used as a means of storytelling and has vastly enriched our lives. The world needs women to inspire us, to raise our spirits, and to serve as role models for our future generation of girls.

Visit speakingoftravel.net for travel tips, travel stories, and ways you can become a more savvy traveler.

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