Eufrasia Burlamacchi Illuminating Women Artists

The illuminated manuscripts of Sister Eufrasia Burlamacchi (1478-1548) are truly a sight to behold. Her multifaceted illumination is a balanced blend of simplicity of forms, variety of colors, and fanciful inventions. Though born into a wealthy family, Sister Eufrasia was sent to live in a convent when she was a young girl. Within the convent walls of San Domenico in Lucca, Italy, where she lived and worked, Burlamacchi attained high levels of artistic proficiency through her knowledge of drawing and color technique, composition, treatment of space, and proportions.

Through the thorough scholarship of author Loretta Vandi, this volume argues that Sister Eufrasia not only became the primary illuminator in her Dominican convent in Lucca but was also exposed to the work of artists we now include in the High Renaissance. On this ground, she pursued a clear iconographic program, supported by a style that quickly reached its maturity. Ultimately, she passed her artistic solutions on to younger sisters in faith to establish a convent workshop where mutual exchange was the norm, thus participating in a long tradition of artistic tutelage. Here, for the first time, Eufrasia Burlamacchi is recognized and discussed as an influential and gifted artist in her own right.