“La Madonna della Seggiola” (1890)
Unknown artist
28.25 in diameter, oil on canvas (46.5 x 55 in overall)
Coppola Collection

A fine Italian 19th century oil painting on canvas “La Madonna della Seggiola” after Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino 1483-1520). The circular painted canvas depicting a seated Madonna holding an infant Jesus Christ next to a child Saint John the Baptist, all within a massive carved gilt wood and gesso frame (all high-quality gilt is original) which is identical to the frame on Raphael’s original artwork.

This painting is a 19th Century copy of Raphael’s Madonna della Seggiola painted in 1514 and currently exhibited and part of the permanent collection at the Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, Florence, Italy. The bodies of the Virgin, Christ, and the boy Baptist fill the whole picture. The tender, natural looking embrace of the Mother and Child, and the harmonious grouping of the figures in the round, have made this one of Raphael’s most popular Madonnas. The isolated chair leg is reminiscent of papal furniture, which has led to the assumption that Leo X himself commissioned the painting.

Likely painted from life in front of the actual work, this is stamped (illegible) on the back, under the handwritten “Galleria Palatina – Firenze” along with the handwritten title “Madonna della Seggiola di Ruffaello”

I have seen two others of these on the market. These were probably a coveted prize from the Italian Grand Tour period.

“Knight Virtus” (2024)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
35 x 8 cm, painted ceramic
Coppola Collection

Renaissance plate Knight Virtus, hand painted by the painter Francesca Niccacci,

During the Italian Renaissance, display plates were given as engagement or wedding gifts. Sumptuously hand painted, they celebrated the ideals of beauty and virtue symbolized by the portrait of a Bella Donna, an elegant lady, or a handsome young man. The composition occasionally included a few words of wisdom painted in a ribbon or scroll and an elaborate border.

I commissioned a set of four of these stunning and unique black and white variants.

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Amor” (2024)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
35 x 8 cm, painted ceramic
Coppola Collection

Renaissance plate Amor, hand painted by the painter Francesca Niccacci,

During the Italian Renaissance, display plates were given as engagement or wedding gifts. Sumptuously hand painted, they celebrated the ideals of beauty and virtue symbolized by the portrait of a Bella Donna, an elegant lady, or a handsome young man. The composition occasionally included a few words of wisdom painted in a ribbon or scroll and an elaborate border.

I commissioned a set of four of these stunning and unique black and white variants.

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Ars Est Amor” (2024)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
45 x 8 cm, painted ceramic
Coppola Collection

Renaissance plate Ars Est Amor, hand painted by the painter Francesca Niccacci,

During the Italian Renaissance, display plates were given as engagement or wedding gifts. Sumptuously hand painted, they celebrated the ideals of beauty and virtue symbolized by the portrait of a Bella Donna, an elegant lady, or a handsome young man. The composition occasionally included a few words of wisdom painted in a ribbon or scroll and an elaborate border.

I commissioned a set of four of these stunning and unique black and white variants.

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Lady Virtus” (2024)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
45 x 8 cm, painted ceramic
Coppola Collection

Renaissance plate Lady Virtus, hand painted by the painter Francesca Niccacci,

During the Italian Renaissance, display plates were given as engagement or wedding gifts. Sumptuously hand painted, they celebrated the ideals of beauty and virtue symbolized by the portrait of a Bella Donna, an elegant lady, or a handsome young man. The composition occasionally included a few words of wisdom painted in a ribbon or scroll and an elaborate border.

I commissioned a set of four of these stunning and unique black and white variants.

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Young Lady” (2020)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
35 x 8 cm, painted ceramic
Coppola Collection

Renaissance plate Young Lady, hand painted by the painter Francesca Niccacci, with only five colors expertly mixed with Renaissance methodologies. This wall plate depicts the portrait of a young lady, possibly Simonetta Vespucci, by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli.

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Piatto Rinascimentale In Vita Vertus” (2020)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
50 x 8 cm, painted ceramic
Coppola Collection

Renaissance plate In Vita Virtus, hand painted by the painter Francesca Niccacci, with only five colors expertly mixed with Renaissance methodologies. The white scroll or ribbon bears the Latin writing “In Vita Virtus”, A Virtuous Life.

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Piatto Rinascimentale Dulce Est Amor” (2020)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
50 x 8 cm, painted ceramic
Coppola Collection

Renaissance plate Dulce Est Amor, hand painted by the painter Francesca Niccacci, with only five colors expertly mixed with Renaissance methodologies. The white scroll or ribbon bears the Latin writing “Dulce Est Amor”, Sweet Love.

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Madonna and Child II” (2020)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
6.5 x 13 x 1 in (brick), 9.5 x 15 in (wood), paint on brick
Coppola Collection

The hand-painted image of the Madonna and Child is depicted on an over 500-year-old brick. On the back “These ancient bricks come from old farmhouses of the rolling Umbrian Hills ruins or abandoned churches of the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. Painted by Francesca Niccacci, using only 5 colors and mixed in the same renaissance method. The ancient brick is mounted on rustic wood.”

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.

“Madonna and Child I” (2020)
By Francesca Niccacci (ca 1950 -)
12 x 12 x 1.25 in (brick), 20 x 20 in (wood), paint on brick
Coppola Collection

The hand-painted image of the Madonna and Child is depicted on an over 500-year-old brick. On the back “These ancient bricks come from old farmhouses of the rolling Umbrian Hills ruins or abandoned churches of the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries. Painted by Francesca Niccacci, using only 5 colors and mixed in the same renaissance method. The ancient brick is mounted on rustic wood.”

Francesca Niccacci is an internationally renowned ceramic artist living and working in Deruta, Italy. Her signature Renaissance-style portraits have a museum quality and have earned her awards and recognition. Unlike many established artists in Deruta, Francesca does not come from a family of ceramicists. She argues that a fresh start helped her choose her artistic path without constraints. After her degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, she became an art teacher. She did not stop studying, though, keen to research the influence of Italian Renaissance paintings on Deruta pottery and the styles and techniques that had made local ceramics famous worldwide.