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;

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.