Massimo Campigli Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Massimo Campigli (Berlin, 1895 - Saint Tropez, 1971). His given name is Max Ihlenfeld. He moved to Florence and in 1909 his contacts with the exponents of Milanese futurism began. Read the full biography

Massimo Campigli Biography

Massimo Campigli (Berlin, 1895 - Saint Tropez, 1971). His given name is Max Ihlenfeld. He moved to Florence and in 1909 his contacts with the exponents of Milanese futurism began. In 1919 he moved to Paris and met De Chirico, Savinio, Severini, De Pisis: he began to paint. Following a visit to the Louvre, he was fascinated by Egyptian art, which, from that moment on, would live on in his work. In the same period, he became acquainted with Lèger's cubism, Carrà's metaphysical painting and the work of Picasso. In 1927 he renounced his previous job as a journalist to dedicate himself definitively to his work as a painter. In 1928 he visited the Etruscan museum of Villa Giulia and in his works there is a classic and archaic flavour, his canvases are filled with graceful female figures, placed in restricted environments and with a symbolic meaning. He participates in numerous exhibitions in Italy and abroad. In 1933 he signed the Manifesto of Mural Painting, with Sironi, Carrà and Funi, later working to fresco the Palace of Justice in Milan, the University of Padua and the Italian exhibition pavilion in New York. After the war he returned to Paris, but immediately afterwards moved to Rome and then to Saint Tropez.