Born in 1960, Zangrandi grew up in the city of Verona, Italy. She spent childhood summers in the Italian countryside with her maternal grandparents. Zangrandi says, “Nature has had a great role in my training, and ignited my curiosity. My grandfather, although a peasant, was very educated and was, in my opinion, a great artist. He sculpted birds in the trunks of trees and drew very well, besides being a good musician. My grandmother was an ethereal creature, beautiful and angelic.”

Inspired by her love of nature and the sweeping landscape visible from her home, her pictures are colorful worlds of fantasy, often involving princesses and fantastical creatures. Although dissociated from the professional art world, she has long admired the work of Italian Renaissance masters and French Impressionists. 

Zangrandi’s early and enduring love of nature informs not only her paintings’ subject matter, but also her materials. “Ever since I was a little girl, I loved painting, drawing and embroidering. For many years I painted on Lessinia limestone that I found while walking in the mountains. One winter afternoon, in November 2018, I finished painting the stones and had nothing to paint. I painted on a wooden board that a carpenter from a nearby village had given me. I painted a face of a princess, beautiful and elegant – an imaginary figure – and then I continued to paint on wood. Every afternoon I had to paint to feel complete.”

As Zangrandi’s work has evolved, she has experimented with larger panels and canvases.