His favourite theme, the female figure, is repeated several times on the large canvas, depicting with whole-figure women as well as only their heads, as if they looked out of the window, on different levels. The grouping of women is a theme dear to the artist, who depicts them in social environments such as theatres or music halls as well as inside architectures that remind of grids. The staircase is the one from his Villa in Saint-Tropez, for which he entrusted his dear friend and colleague Gio Ponti, who designed the project in the late Fifties. Campigli had portraited Gio Ponti’s family in 1934 in the famous painting The Architect’s family and they had previously worked together on many occasions, as for example in the realization of Villa Planchart in Caracas, between 1953-57.

It is while visiting Villa Giulia in Rome in 1928 that Campigli felt the call of the Etruscans. Post-cubist convolution was replaced by a lyrical feeling and the first canvases in the style that would become typical of him were born. As he declared “I loved that little, smiling humanity that makes one smiles [...] A pagan happiness entered my paintings, in the spirit of both my subjects and work, which became freer and more lyrical”.

Born German and naturalized Italian after moving to Italy, Campigli translates the Mediterranean nature of the Etruscans into a personal and direct mode of expression. His artifacts are stylized according to Etruscan forms and colors.

Campigli was invited for the first time to La Biennale di Venezia in 1928, where he exhibited in an entire room. From 1928 onwards he was invited many times and had a solo room also in 1948, 1958, 1960 and 1962. For the 1948 edition he was chaperoned by Italian art critic Umbro Apollonio, who later would write “... In Campigli the charming smile (of the Chinese) and the mischievous one of the Etruscans give rise to a brand-new friendliness, which is never at rest or satisfied; something that still asks questions and still waits for answers”.

Important exhibitions devoted to Campigli were held in many prestigious museums over the years. In particular, thanks to P.A. Regnault, an early supporter of his, an extensive show was realized at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1946, showcasing over 60 works, followed by another one in 1955. His works were presented in 1956 at the Tate Gallery, London and in 1957 at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

Outside of Europe, Campigli attended São Paolo Bienal in 1951 and 1953 and participated in travelling exhibitions across America. In 1949 he was included in Twentieth-Century Italian Art, the prominent exhibition curated by Alfred Barr and James Thrall Soby at the MoMA in New York.