Bio

Nadia Ferrante is an Italian artist, born and raised near Rome, where her love for beauty and art emerged early in life. Her favorite artists include the great Italian masters such as Caravaggio, Michelangelo, and Raphael, but over time she discovered and fell in love with Klimt, Degas, and the Pre-Raphaelites. Though her academic path led her away from art, her passion was reignited later in life, particularly after a difficult period marked by personal loss.

With a deepening mastery of soft pastels, oil paints, and graphite, Nadia’s work focuses on portraiture and figurative representation. The pandemic lockdown spurred her to test her skills in competitions and exhibitions, which led to recognition in local and international events. She was featured in catalogs such as Modportrait 2021 and the Leonardo Guide (2021, 2022, 2023), and became a finalist in the British Art Prize, with her work exhibited in London in 2024. She win the Grand Prize of International artist magazine ” people and figures” in 2023.  She has also been published in prominent magazines like Fine Art Connoisseur, American Art Collector, International Artist Magazine, PoetsArtists, 365Art+, and more.

In her art, Nadia seeks to create an emotional and psychological connection with the viewer. Her imaginative realism explores human emotions through characters that engage directly with the audience. Combining classical themes with contemporary societal issues, her works invite viewers to confront contradictions while presenting her unique vision of beauty, drama, and sensuality.

Q&A

What are your most valued skills as an artist?

My skills I think are, on a technical level, the realism in rendering the sensation of the skin, the tones, and the hair, especially with pastels, where I think I have more ability. A dear artist friend once told me, your nudes give the sensation of being able to touch them, almost pinching the skin, well I think that’s a nice compliment. On an emotional level, I’m often told that my portraits have a soul in their eyes, and I really take pride in capturing the essence of the subject.

What is the best advice you have received in your career?

The best advice was to continue, not to give up, and to try to express what I feel and what makes me better, because if you make art to please others sooner or later you lose yourself.

What’s the purpose or goal of your work?

What I try to do with my art is to sensitize those who observe it, Especially for the themes dearest to me, women, their condition in society, the individual in their fragilities, weaknesses and how we are connected to each other. If I can touch even just one person with my works, I have already achieved my goal, obviously I would like to see my abilities recognized by the general public, but it is a goal that does not depend only on me. Instead, transmitting what I wanted with my works, that is important and depends only on me.

Has the press or media ever mentioned your artwork?

I have been published in several prestigious international magazines, particularly those focused on specialized topics abroad. My works and interviews have appeared in American Art Collector, International Artist, Fine Art Connoisseur, and PoetsArtists magazines in the U.S., as well as in 365 Art+ In Japan, I have been featured on the platform Realism Today, as part of a group of artists, and on websites dedicated to art archives. My works have been included in museum catalogs, such as the Red Tome of the Artelibre Gallery in Spain, marking its 25th anniversary, and have appeared in the Guia Leonardo for the past three years, as well as in the book Masterworks: Volume 1, published in Spain.

Describe an artwork you are most proud of. Why?

I like to think that my best work is always the next one, as it’s in my nature to challenge myself and push my boundaries. However, I must admit that I’m very attached to my latest series, which is still ongoing, and includes Tides of Inner Struggle. This piece surprised me with the expressive power I was able to convey, especially because it addresses a very contemporary and personal theme: the pressure of society, particularly on women.