Paulo Ghiglia was born in Florence in 1905, the son of the artist Oscar Ghiglia and brother of Valentino who was also an artist. It was because of his family that he began to be recognised as an artist with a painting that his mother sent to the Quadriennale di Roma, without his knowledge.

He was immediately drawn to portrait painting and it was these that made him famous. He made portraits of numerous figures in public life, politicians and people from high society.

In 1956 he exhibited in London and then several times in Paris where he lived for three years. In 1964 he took part in a collective show at the Galleria Contemporarte di Arezzo and in 1967 the Galleria Michelangelo di Firenze held a persona...