Plautilla Nelli, born in Florence in 1523, entered the convent of St. Catherine of Siena, in her native city, and in time became its abbess. Patiently, with earnest prayer, she studied and copied the works of Fra Bartolommeo and Andrea del Sarto, until she was able to paint an original "Adoration of the Magi" of such excellence as to secure her a place among the painters of Florence.
Many of her pictures remained in her convent, but she also painted a "Madonna Surrounded by Saints" for the choir of Santa Lucia at Pistoja. There are pictures attributed to Plautilla Nelli in Berlin—notably the "Visit of Martha to Christ,"—which are characterized by the earnestness, purity, and grace of her beloved Fra Bartolommeo. Her "Adoration of the Wise Men" is at Parma; the "Descent from the Cross" in Florence; the "Last Supper" in the church of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.
There are traditions of her success as a teacher of painting in her convent, but of this we have no exact knowledge such as we have of the work of the "Suor Plautilla," the name by which she came to be known in all Italy.
Nemes-Ransonnett, Countess Elisa. Born at Vienna, 1843. She studied successively with Vastagh, Lulos, Aigner, Schilcher, Lenbach, Angeli, and J. Benczur, and opened her studio at Kun Szent Miklos near Budapest. The "Invitation to the Wedding" was well received, and her portraits of Schiller and Perczel are in public galleries—the former in the Vienna Künstlerhaus, and the latter in the Deputy House at Budapest.
Newcomb, Maria Guise. Born in New Jersey. Pupil of Schenck, Chialiva, and Edouard Detaille in Paris. Travelled in Algeria and the Sahara, studying the Arab and his horses. Very few artists can be compared with Miss Newcomb in representing horses. She has a genius for portraying this animal, and understands its anatomy as few painters have done.
She was but a child when sketching horses and cattle was her pastime, and so great was her fondness for it that the usual dolls and other toys were crowded out of her life. Her studies in Paris were comprehensive, and her work shows the results and places her among the distinguished painters of animals.
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Ney, Elisabeth. Born in 1830. After studying at the Academy in Berlin, this sculptor went to Munich, where she was devoted to her art. She then came to Texas and remained some years in America. She returned to Berlin in 1897. Among her best known works are busts of Garibaldi, of J. Grimm, 1863, "Prometheus Bound," 1868, and a statue of Louis II. of Bavaria.
Nicholls, Mrs. Rhoda Holmes. Queen's Scholarship, Bloomsbury Art School, London; gold medal, Competitive Prize Fund Exhibition, New York; medal, Chicago Exposition, 1893; medal, Tennessee Exposition, 1897; bronze medal at Buffalo Exposition, 1901. Member of American Water-Color Society, New York Water-Color Society, Woman's Art Club, American Society of Miniature Painters, Pen and Brush Club; honorable member of Woman's Art Club, Canada. Born in Coventry, England. Pupil of Bloomsbury School of Art, London; of Cannerano and Vertunni in Rome, where she was elected to the Circolo Artistico and the Società degli Aquarelliste.
Her pictures are chiefly figure subjects, among which are "Those Evening Bells," "The Scarlet Letter," "A Daughter of Eve," "Indian after the Chase," "Searching the Scriptures," etc.