“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.