He was given the surname Genito - for generato (“born” in Italian), as was common for orphans, but this somehow became Gemito in orphanage records.

He was working as an apprentice in painter and sculptor Emanuele Caggiano's studio before he was 10 years old, demonstrating a dexterity and inventiveness which he eventually became famous for.

It created excitement when exhibited at the Promotrice in Naples, so much so that King Victor Emmanuel II purchased it and presented it to the Museo di Capodimonte for permanent display.

Gemito moved to Paris in 1877 where he found a great friend in noted French artist Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier.

In 1887, Gemito was commissioned to create a marble statue of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, to be erected outside the Royal Palace of Naples.