Nicolò Nelli
Nicolò Nelli was an artist active during the mid-16th century, with a documented working period spanning 1552 to 1568. His extant body of work consists primarily of prints, seven examples of which are currently represented in institutional holdings, including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Nelli’s subjects demonstrate a diverse approach, focusing alternately on satirical genre imagery and formal portraiture. His engagement with moralizing and popular themes is evident in works such as The World Turned Upside Down (Il Mondo alla Riversa) and Proverbi (Proverbs). He also explored complex allegorical subjects, exemplified by the print Venerable Idleness, Queen of Cockaigne; a fat woman seated on a movable toilet chair being waited on and fed by seven women.
In contrast to his genre scenes, Nelli executed sophisticated portraiture of contemporary political figures. These include the Bust portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici, presented in an oval frame within a rectangular plaque surrounded by fantastical ornament, and the Bust portrait of Ottavio Farnese, depicted in profile within a niche encased by an ornamented cartouche. The historical significance of Nicolò Nelli prints ensures their continued study. Many of these period images are now in the public domain, enabling institutions to make downloadable artwork and high-quality prints available for researchers.
