"A little-known painter in sixteenth-century Florence, Plautilla Nelli is one of the first known female Renaissance artists. The Lamentation, Last Supper, and Pentecost make her one of the first European women we can identify with large-scale religious works. Most remarkably, perhaps, this Dominican nun became the primary "image maker" of the Order of Preachers in Florence, a role previously played by Fra Bartolommeo. Through her art, she "preached" primarily, but not exclusively, to the nuns in her convent of Santa Caterina da Siena. Nelli also conveyed her artistic and moral message to all those who could see her works, many of which were praised by two contemporaries, Giorgio Vasari and Serafino Razzi." "In this collection of essays, internationally recognized scholars examine the life and works of Nelli, the prioress of a Dominican convent, with special attention to the artistic, social, and religious contexts. The book reproduces all Nelli's paintings and drawings in color, many for the first time, and significantly increases the small corpus of works attributed to her. It also presents the restoration results of her celebrated Lamentation."--BOOK JACKET.

In 2017, the Uffizi Galleries have begun a long-term path for promoting female artists. One of the first initiatives is the Uffizi exhibition devoted to Sister Plautilla Nelli (1524 - 1588), considered the first female Florentine painter.0Polissena de' Nelli entered the convent of Santa Caterina at fourteen. Here, she learnt by herself the art of painting by copying works and drawings and by using other nuns as models. Plautilla produced works of high quality and led a true art workshop, with many students.0Plautilla painted above all religious-themed works: people who owned a painting by a nun, assigned to the object an almost magical power. Plautilla's works were thus not only very popular, but also considered very precious.0The Uffizi exhibition presents not only Plautilla's paintings, but also some codes illuminated by her, testimony of the great artistic vitality of her monastery.00Exhibition: Uffizi, Galleria delle Statue e delle Pitture, Florence, Italy (09.03.-04.06.2017).

For fans of rich and vivid historical novels like Girl with a Pearl Earring and Code Name Verity, Laura Malone Elliott delivers the stunning tale of real-life Renaissance woman Ginevra de' Benci, the inspiration for one of Leonardo da Vinci's earliest masterpieces. The young and beautiful daughter of a wealthy family, Ginevra longs to share her poetry and participate in the artistic ferment of Renaissance Florence but is trapped in an arranged marriage in a society dictated by men. The arrival of the charismatic Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, introduces Ginevra to a dazzling circle of patrons, artists, and philosophers. Bembo chooses Ginevra as his Platonic muse and commissions a portrait of her by a young Leonardo da Vinci. Posing for the brilliant painter inspires an intimate connection between them, one Ginevra only begins to understand. In a rich and vivid world of exquisite art with a dangerous underbelly of deadly political feuds, Ginevra faces many challenges to discover her voice and artistic companionship—and to find love.