by Redazione 25/10/2026
Categories: Exhibitions / Disclaimer
From October 19 to November 25, 2026, the Robert Simon Fine Art gallery in New York is dedicating an exhibition to Sister Plautilla Nelli, the 16th-century Florentine nun and painter.
From October 19 to November 25, 2026, the Robert Simon Fine Art gallery in New York is dedicating an exhibition—titled *La prima* (The First), as she is considered the first Florentine woman to achieve fame as a painter—to Sister Plautilla Nelli, a pioneering figure in 16th-century Florentine painting. The exhibition features works for sale and on loan from private American and European collections, bringing the art of this extraordinary artist outside of Florence for the first time. Sister Plautilla Nelli (Florence, 1524–1588), a nun and painter, whose work even caught the attention of Giorgio Vasari, who reserved a brief but significant tribute for her in the second edition of *The Lives of the Artists* : “She produced some works so well that they aroused the admiration of artists.”
Plautilla Nelli was able to combine artistic exploration with the practical necessities of convent life. Her works stood out for their quality and beauty, but they also served as a vital economic resource to support the Convent of Saint Catherine of Siena in Florence, located across from the church and monastery of San Marco.
The exhibition organized by Robert Simon Fine Art, a galleryon New York’sUpper East Side, is the first exhibition dedicated to Sister Plautilla Nelli outside of Florence: an enterprising artist, of whose life few documentary records remain, but whose personality emerges powerfully through the works that have survived to this day. It is precisely this artistic legacy that allows us today to reconstruct her career and appreciate her contribution to art history, restoring visibility to a woman who was able to make a name for herself in a world where opportunities for female painters were still extremely limited.
Among the works featured in the exhibition is the Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist Adoring the Infant Jesus, from a private collection. Like many of the small-scale paintings created by Sister Plautilla Nelli for personal devotion, the work reveals the artist’s interest in painters of the previous generation, particularly those associated with the School of St. Mark.
Another work on display is the Portrait of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, which depicts the famous Dominican preacher in profile, in the pose by which he is traditionally recognized. His left hand rests on a book, while his right hand is raised in a gesture evoking preaching and the assertion of a spiritual thesis. A halo appears above his head, a symbol of the sanctity that Savonarola’s followers would have wished for him, but which was never officially recognized. His hood and robe are embellished with golden decorations in the shape of small flames.
The Virgin Mary occupies a central place in Plautilla Nelli’s artistic oeuvre, so much so that she is one of her favorite subjects. The Madonna frequently appears in her devotional compositions, flanked by other sacred figures, but she can also become the undisputed protagonist of the image. One work on display attests to this very centrality, offering an example of the fundamental role that the Marian figure played in the Florentine nun’s artistic exploration.
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| Sister Plautilla Nelli, the 16th-century Florentine nun and painter, captivates New York |
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