Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), ‘The Crucifixon’, the first large scale painting on this subject realised by a female artist in the 16th Century.

FLORENCE.- ‘The Crucifixion’ by Plautilla Nelli restored and brought to light by Advancing Women Artists Foundation and now on display at the Last Supper Museum of Andrea del Sarto in Florence which in recent years has become a collection point for the restored works of Plautilla Nelli. 

Plautilla Nelli born in Florence in 1524, a self-taught artist known as the first recognized female painter in Renaissance Florence. At the age of fourteen Nelli joined the convent Caterina da Siena located in Florence. She spent her life as a nun and an artist and taught art at her all-female workshop. Commissioned by many in Florence at the time to paint religious subjects, Giorgio Vasari would write of Nelli in his book ‘The Lives’ “She made so many paintings for the homes of Florentine gentlemen that it would be tedious to list them all here”. 

Nelli also made paintings for women such as Arcangela Viola, Prioress at Santa Caterina da Siena. Commissioned by the Prioress in the 1570’s Nelli produced three works based on her own religious visions. Two pieces depicting Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine restored by AWA, Rosella Lari conservator completed the latter in 2009. ‘The Crucifixion’ now restored and the central piece completing the lunette trilogy. 

‘The Crucifixon’ the first large scale painting on this subject realised by a female artist in the 16th Century. Nelli was one of the few artists of her time who painted large-scale religious subjects. Forbidden at the time for women to study the male nude, it is believed that Nelli had been given the opportunity to study this subject matter as she inherited the drawings of Fra Bartolomeo, a renaissance painter and who joined the Domincan order in 1500. 

Hidden from public view for nearly 450 years, one now has the opportunity to witness these three lunettes as commissioned originally. They will be permanently on display at the San Salvi Museum in Florence. 

Advancing Women Artists (AWA), an American based non-profit 501(c)(3), organization founded by the late Jane Fortune has spent over a decade researching, restoring and exhibiting works by women in Florence.

Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), ‘Lamentation with Saints’. Oil on canvas, 288 x 192 cm. Restored in 2006 by Advancing Women Artists (AWA).

A masterwork at the San Marco Museum, Florence, AWA’s first-ever restoration. The conservation of Nelli’s large-scale fresco-like work on display in San Marco’s large refectory was a monumental job for, as the painting was being examined, live woodworms were found in the wood panel and needed to be eliminated by inserting gas into bubble wrap that sealed the painting, before restoration could begin. It took one month to kill the woodworms. A laboratory analysis of the painting showed various layers, suggesting that Nelli's preparatory drawing might lie beneath the surface. Restorers were able carry out tests using infrared reflectography. Other challenges in the restoration, in addition to the need for careful cleaning, stemmed from the fact that there were several areas where the painting’s pictorial layer had curled.

Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), ‘Saint Dominic receives the Rosary’. Oil on wood panel, 147 x 231 cm. Restored in 2008 by Advancing Women Artists (AWA).

An art treasure for Nelli’s order at the Last Super Museum of Andrea del Sarto, Florence. This painting was in a considerable state of despair when it was found in San Salvi’s storehouses. A large amount of repainting has been executed during a past restoration in an attempt to redress extensive loss of color. It has been severely damaged by various causes, including centuries of pigeon droppings, whose acidic composition had corroded the painting’s surface in many places. Saint Dominic, founder of Nelli’s Dominican Order, was known for his visions of the Virgin Mary who inspired him to promote the recitation of the Rosary. Nelli’s lunette is part of a triptych series of panels, commissioned by Sister Arcangela Viola, prioress of Nelli’s convent in the 1570s. The painting’s perspective suggests it was meant to be seen from very high up and her brushstrokes are executed in a way that have made art historians wonder if Nelli intended for this panel to look like a fresco.

Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), ‘Saint Catherine in Prayer’. Oil on wood panel, 145 x 235 cm. Restored in 2008 by Advancing Women Artists (AWA).

The titular saint of Nelli’s convent at Last Super Museum of Andrea del Sarto, Florence. Nelli and her school produced several Saint Catherine images, as the learned holy woman was patron of her convent. The San Salvi painting is Florence’s largest work on this subject. The painting was so damaged that the project curator, the Palatine Gallery’s Serena Padovani, initially doubted the potential effectiveness of the restoration. Happily, over the course of two years, Saint Catherine in Prayer was restored to its original dignity. During the restoration process, conservator Rossella Lari noticed that the saint’s gaze was turned upwards, looking intently at the blackened clouds. Surely, there has to be a source of Divine Light hidden somewhere under all the paint and grime? The painting was cleaned for months to remove the dark patent a previous restorer had used to repaint the clouds. Finally, there among the slowly whitening clouds, a tiny strip of yellow light appeared, giving new meaning to the entire image.