Mezzana Bigli (Pavia), 1889 – Rome, 1967

Painter. He trained in Rome, influenced by Spadini and then, from 1917 by Picasso, who he befriended in Paris (working on the sets of Parade). He was one of the first to interpret the 'rappel à l'ordre' climate of the post-war period, with works which insist on the 'quality' of the painting, consciously inspired by the past, drawing on post-Caravaggio and nineteenth century realism, with strenuous formal definition. Linked to the magazine 'Valori Plastici' ['Plastic Values'], he was a key figure on the Roman scene between the two wars.