Suor Plautilla Nelli exhibition at Uffizi highlights forgotten female artists

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence will host an exhibition dedicated to Suor Plautilla Nelli, a 16th-century nun and painter, opening March 8. The show is part of an annual initiative by Uffizi director Eike Schmidt to rediscover women artists. Curated by Fausta Navarro, the exhibition presents Nelli's paintings and illuminated manuscripts, demonstrating the cultural vitality of her Dominican convent of Santa Caterina da Siena. Nelli, cited by Vasari, is considered the founder of female art in 16th-century Florence. She ran a flourishing workshop with many pupils, despite lacking formal artistic education. Her works, mostly religious subjects, were highly esteemed and considered magical. The Advancing Women Artists Foundation (AWA), founded by Jane Fortune, has restored Nelli's works in Tuscany, including at the Museo di San Marco, Museo del Cenacolo di San Salvi, and the Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe degli Uffizi. Currently, works in Palazzo Vecchio and the Convento di San Domenico in Siena are being restored. AWA also restored two illuminated manuscripts for the exhibition. Nelli's 'L'Ultima Cena' is the only Last Supper painted by a woman; AWA launched an international crowdfunding campaign for its restoration, and it will be exhibited in 2018 at Santa Maria Novella. Jane Fortune received the Fiorino d'oro in 2016 for saving over forty works by female painters.