Completes restoration of Plautilla Nelli's Last Supper, one of the world's greatest works by a woman

TheLast Supper by Plautilla Nelli (Florence, 1524 - 1588) returns, after four labotory interventions, to the Santa Maria Novella Complex in Florence where it will remain permanently.

The monumental canvas is among the largest works in the world executed by a woman, as well as one of the most compositionally demanding. Thirteen life-size figures are depicted, representing the moment when Christ reveals that he will be betrayed. Similar to Leonardo da Vinci ’s idea of depicting the Apostles caught in their emotions, Plautilla Nelli, a self-taught nun painter who started an all-female workshop within her convent, was able to paint this scene at a time when women did not have the opportunity to receive anatomy training.

The restoration was made possible thanks to the contribution of Advancing Women Artists (AWA), the City of Florence and in particular the Florentine Civic Museums, the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the Metropolitan City of Florence and the Provinces of Pistoia and Prato, and the Dominican Friars of the Convent of Santa Maria Novella.

“One is never as close to an artist as in a restoration workshop. We restored the canvas and in doing so rediscovered Plautilla’s story and her personality. Her brushstrokes were powerful and loaded with color. Reflectography revealed the presence of very little preparatory drawing...Plautilla knew what she wanted and had enough mastery of her art to achieve it,” said restorer Rosella Lari, who was directly responsible for the intervention. The restoration was supported by diagnostic analysis carried out by theCNR Institute for the Conservation and Enhancement of Cultural Heritage. This 360-degree process, conducted by an all-female team of curators, conservators and researchers, led to the revelation of the chemical composition of the pigments used, and the restoration provided clear evidence that Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supper is a choral work, as different hands with different levels of expertise were found on the canvas.

As stated, the restoration of Plautilla Nelli’s Last Supp er was sponsored and funded by Advancing Women Artists, whose purpose is to research, restore, and exhibit works by women artists in museums, churches, and storage facilities in Tuscany. While the canvas was in the restoration lab, donors from around the world contributed to this rescue mission through a two-stage project. In the first phase, the crowdfunding campaign ’TheFirstLast’ was launched in March 2015. The first to offer his donation was the Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella, followed by donors from 19 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The second phase of the worldwide appeal, The Adopt an Apostle Program, allowed each of the 12 donors to be matched with one of the saints depicted.

Plautilla Nelli signed her canvas, a rare occurrence in the Renaissance, and accompanied her signature with the inscription Orate pro Pictora.

In the photos below: theLast Supper by Plautilla Nelli, the relocation of the work, restorers at work on the painting, the central detail with Christ.

Completes restoration of Plautilla Nelli's Last Supper, one of the world's greatest works by a woman

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