SISTER PLAUTILLA AND OTHERS.
Isabella Mazzoni was also known at this period as a sculptor. We hear, too, of Maria Calavrese, who painted in fresco; and Plautilla Nelli—Suor Plautilla, as she is usually called—deserves more than a passing mention. Lanzi tells us she was of a noble Florentine family, and born in 1523. She had no assistance in developing her remarkable talent but her study of the designs of Fra Bartolomeo, one of the best masters of the Florentine school. She became a nun of the Dominican convent of St. Catherine of Sienna in Florence, and having acquired considerable reputation by her skill in painting, finished for the church a Descent from the Cross, said to be from a design by Andrea del Sarto; and a picture of her own composition, the Adoration of the Magi—a work that won great praise. In the first may be noticed the same purity of contour, the same harmony of light and shade, grace of drapery, and confident repose that characterize the works of Andrea. In the choir of the Convent of Santa Lucia, at Pistoja, was her large picture of the Madonna holding the child, surrounded by saints; and in the convent at Florence a large painting of the Last Supper. We do not attempt to enumerate the works credited to her, including her copies of the best masters, particularly Fra Bartolomeo, whom it was not easy to imitate, since he was superior to Raphael in color, and rivaled Vinci in chiaro-oscuro. Some pictures in Berlin, attributed to her, are marked by his purity and careful execution, with his depth and earnestness. She was also a miniature painter. She was prioress of the convent, and lived to the age of sixty-five. One of her successful pupils was Agatha Traballesi.
There were no noted women painters of the Roman school, but we may mention Teodora Danti, who painted several pictures of interiors after the style of Perugino. The heads of her figures were remarkable for grace, and she had much ease of action and freshness of coloring, but there was a certain dryness in the forms and poverty in the drapery.
The wife of the famous engraver, Mare Antonio Raimondi, also engraved on copper; and Diana Ghisi copied in her engravings works both of Raphael and Giulio Romano. Vasari says of her: “She engraves so admirably, the thing is a perfect miracle. For my own part, who have seen herself—and a very pleasing and graceful maiden she is—as well as her works, which are most exquisite, I have been utterly astonished thereby.”