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.