Born in Viareggio, Italy, Lorenzo Viani was encouraged to study at the Istituto di Belle Arti in Lucca by Plinio Nomellini, running into trouble with the police for his anarchist activities. In 1904 he moved on to the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, where he was taught by Fattori and Adolfo De Carolis. Viani established friendships with Antony De Witt, Moses Levy, Armando Spadini and Giovanni Papini. Nomellini, with whom he studied at Torre del Lago, introduced him to the surviving Macchiaioli painters. He developed a strong interest in satire and caricature which was first shown in the drawings that he exhibited at the 1907 Venice Biennale.

Very significant for his future development was his encounter with the work of the Belg...