Italian Painter. He started to study drawing at the age of six. At eighteen he entered the University of Bologna, where he studied literature and philosophy and continued to paint. After graduating he went to Rome and worked for four years as a teacher, and began dedicating himself seriously to painting. In the early 20s, he became aware of his homosexuality and at this time he moved to Paris to study the work of French artists that he admired, especially Delacroix and Manet. He remained in Paris for fourteen years. He did not belong to any one artistic movement as his style combined elements from various movements.  At the outbreak of World War II he moved back to Italy and when the Fascist government was overthrown in 1943 he settled in Venice, where developed a reputation as an eccentric. At the 1948 Venice Bienniale a room was devoted to his works, but due to objections about his sexuality he was not awarded the grand prize.  He began suffering from a nervous disorder and he had to enter a neurological clinic near Milan, but he continued to paint until his death. (bio by: Bunny Boiler)