Four Reasons Why You Should Know About Plautilla Nelli

Plautilla Nelli is the first known female artist to have worked in Florence.

I only recently learned about Plautilla Nelli, a nun and painter who lived in Florence during the 16th century. Although she did not receive formal training as an artist, she taught other nuns to paint and led a workshop in her convent. I ran across her name when reading a public radio story about Advancing Women Artists, a nonprofit dedicated to uncovering and restoring the forgotten works of Florence’s female painters. Intrigued by this groundbreaking artist I’d never heard of, I starting reading about her and looking at pictures of her known works. Only 17 of her paintings and sketches have been identified, although one of her contemporaries claimed that “there were so many of her paintings in the houses of gentlemen in Florence, it would be tedious to mention them all” (source: the AWA article on Nelli).

The work we do have is remarkable, particularly considering her lack of formal training and the fact that she was not allowed to study anatomy.

Nelli’s Last Supper is impressive.

Nelli’s Last Supper is the only known painting on the subject by a woman during the Italian Renaissance (see “Renaissance woman Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper unveiled after restoration in Florence”). The painting is approximately 21 feet wide and six-and-a-half feet tall. Her attention to detail in this large-scale work is evident everywhere, from the elaborate table setting to the emotions expressed by Jesus’ disciples. The painting compares favorably with many other Last Supper paintings from the Italian Renaissance. (For some reason, the article I’ve linked to with examples of these paintings gives the wrong dates for Nelli’s painting.) If I ever have the good fortune to be in Florence, I definitely want to visit the Santa Maria Novella Museum to see this painting in person.

The women in Nelli’s Lamentation With Saints really look like they’ve been crying.

Take a look at the women surrounding Jesus after he has been removed from the cross. Their eyes and noses are red, as if they actually have been crying. Just like the Last Supper painting, this Lamentation demonstrates Nelli’s attention to detail and concern with portraying emotion in her painting.

Nelli wasn’t shy about including women in her Pentecost painting.

Many paintings of the Pentecost from Nelli’s time feature Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the center of the artwork. In Moretto da Brescia’s painting, Mary is the only woman present. Titian places Mary and two other women at the center of his painting. Girolamo Muziano also includes only three women in his painting. But Nelli puts five women at the center of Jesus’ followers as they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In my eyes, this seems like a radical statement. How I wish I could meet Nelli and talk with her about her decision to give women such a prominent place in the birth of the Christian church.

There is so little we know about this talented and apparently prolific painter. Perhaps we will never learn much or recover many of her works. But from the little we have, it’s clear that Nelli is another female artist worth knowing about.