[3] Leone Minassian was born on May 8, 1905, in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire to Armenian parents.
[4] His mother was writer Iskouhi Minas, and his father was Zhan Minasyan, the editor of the French periodical "Patri".
[7] Minassian has been attributed to studying art at Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia,[2][8] as well as under many notable artists, including Leonardo De Mango;[9] Albert Mille (1882–1946);[9] in Naples under Danish painter Axerl Jarl [da];[7] and in Venice under Italian painter Alessandro Milesi.
He was friends with artists Alberto Viani, Giuseppe Santomaso,[11] Giorgio Morandi, and Jean Arp.
[12] After World War II, Minassian found his own painterly language and his art began to receive international attention.