Francesco Musante was born in Genova on February 17 1950; here he graduated first from the local Liceo Artistico and later from the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti. He later attended the Philosophy Department of the Genova University and took painting classes at the Accademia delle Belle Arti of Carrara. In 1968 he exhibited his first paintings, mainly abstract experiments on large backgrounds, and in the 70s his work took a sharp turn towards pop-art and produced a series of paintings dedicated to America, characterised by inscriptions and the insertion of objects and wooden fittings showing clear references to pop-art and the Combine Paintings of Rauschenberg. From 1975 on Musante devoted himself to figurative painting, devising a series of feminine figures drawing their inspiration from Klimt and the Viennese Secession. He subsequently approached ghraphic arts and water-colours and it is in at this stage that we can start detecting in his production the first narrative and imaginative features which were to mark his work from 1985 to today, depicting a progressive interest in the interchange amongst images, words and stories. In 1984 he taught professional EEC classes on artistic engraving techniques. He participated in many collective exhibitions and had his work on display several times at the "Jeune Peinture" exhibition, in the Grand Palais in Paris, the "The Artist and the Book in 20th Century", Museum of Modern Art, New York, Guggenheim Fundation, Venice and the 8th "International Triennial of Commited Graphic Arts in the German Democratic Republic", Berlin.