Arturo Ricci was born in Florence 19th April 1854. He studied in Florence under Tito Conti (1842-1924), a painter of genre renowned for "… the grace of his figures, precision of drawing and strength of his colours", Ricci was to surpass his master in all facets of his work.
Painting figurative subjects, genre scenes and scenes from family life, Ricci soon established himself as one of the foremost artists in Europe in the field of historical costume genre.
Fellow artists in this specific field included Vittorio Reggianini born 1858 in Modena, and Charles Frederick Soulacroix (1825-1879) in Paris.