Achille Virgilio Socrate Funi was born in Ferrara on February 26th, 1890. His early education was at the Art School ‘Dosso Dossi’ in Ferrara, after which he enrolled at ‘l’Accademia di Brera’, at which he attended between 1906 and 1910 with Cesare Tallone, and taught between 1939 and 1960. In 1914 he joined the Futurist movement. At the outbreak of World War I he enlisted with the battalion ‘Lombardo Volontari Ciclisti’ alongside Boccioni. The post-war years were decisive for the evolution of his painting, and in 1920 he held his first exhibition at the Art Gallery in Milan. At this time he also became close to Margherita Sarfatti, reiterating the techniques of Italian Renaissance painting. In 1922 he co-founded the Group ‘Sette Pittori del Novecento’, and in 1931 he participated in the first Quadriennale as a member of the School of Milan. In 1933, along with Mario Sironi and other artists, he signed the Manifesto of Mural Painting. In the forties he taught painting at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera. His pupils included Giuseppe Ajmone, Valerio Pilon and Oreste Carpi. In 1945 he taught painting at ‘l’Accademia Carrara’ in Bergamo and subsequently became director, succeeding Luigi Brignoli. He died at Appiano Gentile on 26th July, 1972.