Lamentation
by NELLI, Plautilla, Oil on panel, 288 x 192 cm
This painting is the best known work of the artist. Originally it was on the altar of the church at the Florentine convent of Santa Caterina, where Nelli lived as a nun and served repeatedly as abbess. The composition derives from Fra Bartolomeo’s Lamentation (1511-12), but she included two additional women next to the Virgin. All figures are highly emotional.