The newly refurbished Prints and Drawings Department at the Uffizi
Nelli’s Sketches
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The place where all artists begin—drawing. In 2007, conservator Donatella Cecchini restored nine of Nelli’s twelve drawings. These drawings can be viewed by prior written request at the Uffizi’s Prints and Drawings Department. This unique venue hosts several drawings by women artists and is a treasure trove for unseen works. Several of our restorations have reconfirmed that Nelli’s large-scale works were produced using the drawings of Fra Bartolomeo, copying them via Vasari ‘spolvero’ technique. According Giovanna Pierattini, the first scholar to research Nelli’s works in modern times (1930), Nelli was particularly gifted in the art of drawing. Here is a descriptive list Nelli’s drawings: Kneeling male figure with hands together, facing left; Kneeling woman; Partial study of Michelangelo’s risen Christ; Head of a youth in a three-quarter profile, facing right; Drapery study, Head and shoulders of a young woman; Seated Madonna nursing; Standing male figure with a large mantle, facing left; partial study of the mantle; Kneeling draped figure, with left hand on the chin.