Overview
A captivating journey into the life and legacy of Plautilla Nelli (1524–1588), The Lost Artist of Florence shines new light on the tale of this trailblazing nun and artist whose captivating story has been largely forgotten until now. Writer and journalist Joanna Moorhead takes readers to Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, where Nelli was confined to a monastery by her parents at the young age of fourteen. Despite regulations against women joining artist guilds or formally studying anatomy, Nelli's talent flourished, and she went on to become an important figure in the Italian Renaissance and the city's first-known woman artist.
A pioneering figure, Nelli was praised by the likes of the great art historian Giorgio Vasari but faded into obscurity until the restoration of two of her paintings in 2019, rediscovered after almost five centuries of neglect. Drawing on years of meticulous research and a personal connection to convent life, Moorhead recounts her detectivelike quest to track down Nelli's forgotten works and revive her artistic legacy. Painting a vivid picture of Renaissance Florence, Moorhead delves into the countercultural world of women's religious communities and explores how Nelli defied the constraints of her time to create ambitious, monumental masterpieces that stand alone in their artistic brilliance while at the same time rivaling the works of of her better-known male contemporaries. From her early years in a Dominican convent to her groundbreaking achievements as a self-taught artist, Nelli’s journey is one of immense innovation, community, loss, and rediscovery all brought to life in this compelling narrative.
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