Eufrasia Burlamacchi

Eufrasia Burlamacchi (1482–1548) was an Italian nun who practiced the art of manuscript illumination.

Biography

Eufrasia Burlamacchi was born in Lucca as a member of the wealthy Burlamacchi family. She became a Dominican nun at the San Nicholao convent. After leaving the convent in 1502, Eufrasia established the convent of San Domenico in Lucca, where she served as Mother Superior.

Legacy

Very little is known of Eufrasia Burlamacchi's life, and much of her work has not survived the effects of time. The most significant primary source of information regarding Burlamacchi's life comes from the Libro del Necrologico del Convento di San Domenico di Lucca (Register of Deaths of the Convent of San Domenico of Lucca); there are few secondary sources. The number of her illuminated texts that survive is small; the most significant surviving works are five books of anthems, annotated between 1502, her first year in the convent, and 1515.

In 2023 two volumes of Burlamacchi's Illuminated Antiphonies were exhibited in Making her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800.