Born as Max Ihlenfeldt in Berlin in 1895, Massimo Campigli grew up in Florence and moved to Milan in 1909 where he encountered the Futurists while working as a journalist. After his release as a prisoner of war during World War I, Campigli moved to Paris and began painting in the manner of Fernand Léger and Pablo Picasso with figures in sculptural and geometrical design.

He frequently exhibited after his first show at the Bragaglia Gallery in Rome in 1923 while aligning himself with Novecento artists. It was not until 1928, however, when Campigli realized his distinctive style through a pivotal discovery of Etruscan art at the Roman Villa Giulia in 1928. These works were well-received in Paris and Milan galleries in 1929...