Elaino Fantuzzi was born in 1909 in Modena, Italy. At the young age of 15, he attended the School of Arts in Verona, and after only one year, was promoted to the Academy. He first opened a studio in Montparnasse, where he struggled for years. He then met Picasso in 1939 and entered his social circle, taking his work beyond Paris to Lione, Bordeaux and Grenoble. He established relationships with other great artists such as Chagall, Matisse, and Braque, whose influences can clearly be seen throughout his works.

Fantuzzi put his budding art career on hold to enlist in the French Army soon after the start of World War II. In 1940 he was captured and sent to a concentration camp. Thankfully, he was soon freed and returned to Paris. <...