Plautilla Nelli Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Plautilla Nelli

Born	1524 (1524) Florence, Republic of Florence
Died	1588 (aged 63–64) Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany

Sister Plautilla Nelli (1524–1588) was a special artist from the Renaissance period. She was a nun who taught herself how to paint. Plautilla Nelli is known as the first female Renaissance painter from Florence, Italy.

She lived in the Dominican convent of St. Catherine of Siena in Florence. Her art was greatly inspired by the ideas of Girolamo Savonarola and the paintings of Fra Bartolomeo.

Plautilla Nelli's Early Life
- Becoming a Nun and Artist
Plautilla Nelli's Art Style
- Emotional Depth in Her Works
Famous Works and Discoveries
Documentaries About Plautilla Nelli
- Television Special
Paintings
Drawings
See also

Plautilla Nelli's Early Life

Plautilla Nelli was born Pulisena Margherita Nelli in 1524. Her family was wealthy and lived in Florence. Her father, Piero di Luca Nelli, was a successful fabric merchant. Her family came from the Mugello valley, just like the famous Medici family.

Today, there's a street in Florence called Via del Canto de' Nelli. It's named after her family. Their original homes were near the Church of San Lorenzo.

Becoming a Nun and Artist

When she was 14, Plautilla became a nun. She took the name Suor Plautilla at the Santa Caterina di Cafaggio convent. She later became the prioress (the head nun) three times.

The convent was run by Dominican friars from San Marco. Their leader was Girolamo Savonarola. In those days, many educated girls became nuns. This helped families avoid the cost of a dowry for marriage. Savonarola encouraged religious women to paint and draw. This made the convent a place where many nun-artists worked. Plautilla's sister, Costanza (Suor Petronilla), also a nun, wrote about Savonarola's life.

Plautilla Nelli had many supporters who bought her art. These included other women. The art historian Giorgio Vasari wrote that her paintings were found in many homes across Florence. A Dominican friar named Fra' Serafino Razzi also mentioned her. He said three nuns at Santa Caterina were her students. Their names were Suor Prudenza Cambi, Suor Agata Trabalesi, and Suor Maria Ruggieri.

Plautilla Nelli's Art Style

Plautilla Nelli learned to paint by herself. She copied works by famous artists like Agnolo Bronzino and Andrea del Sarto. But her main inspiration came from copying Fra Bartolomeo's art. His style was simple and classic, which Savonarola also liked.

Fra Bartolomeo left his drawings to his student, Fra Paolino. These drawings eventually came into the hands of "a nun who paints" at Santa Caterina da Siena. This nun was Plautilla Nelli. She often signed her paintings with "Pray for the Paintress" after her name. This showed her important role as an artist, even as a woman.

Emotional Depth in Her Works

Nelli's paintings are special because of the strong feelings she put into her characters. For example, in her painting Lamentation with Saints, you can see deep sadness. The female figures have red eyes and visible tears. This shows the raw grief they felt about Christ's death.

Her Lamentation painting is now in the Museum of San Marco in Florence. It has inspired books, like The Painter-Prioress of Renaissance Florence. Most of Nelli's works are very large. This was unusual for a woman artist during her time.

She is one of the few female artists mentioned by Giorgio Vasari in his famous book, Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Her art often showed religious scenes. She was known for painting vivid emotions on the faces of her characters.

Famous Works and Discoveries

Plautilla Nelli mostly created religious art. This included large paintings, wood carvings, book illustrations, and drawings.

Some of her famous paintings include:

Lamentation with Saints (at the San Marco Museum, restored in 2006).
Saint Catherine Receives the Stigmata (at the Andrea del Sarto Last Supper Museum of San Salvi, restored in 2008).
Saint Dominic Receives the Rosary (also at San Salvi, restored in 2008).
Her Grieving Madonna at San Salvi is a copy of a painting by Alessandro Allori.
Her Crucifixion is at the Certosa di Galluzzo Monastery near Florence.
The Last Supper, at Santa Maria Novella, is the only work Nelli signed.

The Last Supper, a 7x2-meter oil-on-canvas, is the only signed work by Plautilla Nelli known to survive. It is preserved in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella.

Nelli's Last Supper was painted in the 1560s. It is the first known Last Supper painting created by a woman. Florence is famous for its many Last Supper paintings. This work is very important because of its large size and subject. It is seven meters long and painted with oil on canvas.

The Last Supper was restored for four years. In October 2019, it was shown at the Santa Maria Novella Museum in Florence. It was placed across from a similar painting by Alessandro Allori.

Nelli's work was very brave for a nun-artist of her time. Most nuns were only allowed to make small art pieces. By creating and signing this huge painting, Nelli showed she was just as talented as male artists. These included Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, and Domenico Ghirlandaio. For many centuries, her achievements were forgotten. Thanks to recent restorations, more people are now learning about Nelli's life and art.

Documentaries About Plautilla Nelli

A documentary called The Restoration of Lamentation with Saints: Plautilla Nelli was made in 2007. It is 36 minutes long. It tells the story of Nelli's life and how her Lamentation with Saints painting was restored. The Advancing Women Artists Foundation helped fund this film.

The documentary shows how experts used special tools to look at the drawings under the painting. It also shows how the painting was saved from woodworms and cleaned from centuries of dirt. Experts like Dr. Magnolia Scudieri and Rossella Lari worked on the restoration. The restored painting was shown in October 2006 at the San Marco Museum. Dr. Scudieri said the restoration helps us understand Nelli's art and her life as a nun in Florence.

Television Special

In June 2013, a PBS television documentary called Invisible Women, Forgotten Artists of Florence won an Emmy award. This show was based on Dr. Jane Fortune's book. It featured a part about Suor Plautilla Nelli and the restoration of her Lamentation painting. The special highlighted many artworks by women that were hidden in Florence's museums. It called Nelli "the first woman artist of Florence."