MODULE 3 - Graphic Design During the Renaissance (based on Chapters 5 to 8).
Something that I noticed while reading through chapters 5 through 8 in Megg's (2016) was the lack of a female presence in graphic design history in the Renaissance period of this book. I wondered to myself if there really were no notable women in this field during this time. I know there were many female Renaissance artists that worked on large scale paintings throughout this period (for example: Levina Teerlinc (a possible illuminator!), Lavinia Fontana, and Artemisia Gentileschi), but even those women rarely made the history books or are frequently discussed as being significant characters of art. The only reason I know about these people is due to the fact I have searched them out to teach my children about women's place in history. This seems to be general practice up until the most current of times, where historical truths appear to becoming more frequent in general classes, lectures, television, documentaries, etc.
So, taking my own curiosity about this period and women's place in it - I discovered a woman named Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588). Nelli was a nun at the Dominican convent of St. Catherine of Siena and may have been the first known female Renaissance painter in Florence, Italy (https://mymodernmet.com/sister-plautilla-nelli-last-supper/). Nelli was also one of the rare female Renaissance artists who was allowed to be paid for her commissioned work (http://www.theheroinecollective.com/plautilla-nelli/).
It makes me wonder why more women did not show up in history books through time. And then I came across an article interviewing the woman who was working to restore Nelli's most famous piece, "The Last Supper", and it was found that she had signed her massive piece, and historians believe she did this because she wanted people to know it was created by a woman - which must have been very rare for the period. It makes one wonder if there are more extraordinary pieces out there from that period that were assumed to be created by men but were actually created by women too afraid to speak up or for other unknown reasons.
Not only was Nelli a gifted, self-taught, and successful painter, but she also worked as an illuminator during the Renaissance. The images I shared from www.advancingwomenartists.org show that Nelli's illuminations were very common to the Renaissance period and of those of the men that made history during this time. As in Chapter 7 in Megg's (2016), the illuminations of this time were decorated with borders of vines and floral motifs during the late 1400's. Nelli's illuminations were clearly made by hand and during the height of her "career", it appeared that printing of art within regularly printed pieces was becoming more common than hand-painted illuminations. Perhaps illuminations were still relevant in the religious sector during this late Renaissance period.
Nonetheless, Plautilla Nelli should be remembered as a significant part of graphic design history and I am grateful this reflection on graphic design during the Renaissance led me to her and her extraordinary work and her extraordinary life as an artist. I hope this will lead you to wanting to learn more about women in graphic design history as well.
Plautilla Nelli's "The Last Supper"
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