His grandfather, Cesare Bartolena, portrait and battle painter, had been his early mentor.
He studied briefly at the Academy of Fine Arts at Florence and attended courses by Giovanni Fattori.
There he meets the industrialist, Querci, and the Director of the "Corriere di Livorno", Fabbrini, who will be among his main patrons.
In 1925 the textile merchant Cassuto, organized his first solo exhibition in Milan at the Galleria "L'Esame", displaying landscapes and still lifes .
[2] Never very successful financially or social, he was a member of the painters frequenting the Caffe Bardi in Livorno.