Born in Turin, where he also trained at the Accademia delle Belle Arti, Balla soon moved to Rome and started to work as an illustrator, portrait painter and caricaturist. He developed his style influenced by Pointilism and Divisionism, from which he drew the sense of light and movement. His work featured in art galleries in Rome, Venice and at the Salon d’Automne in Paris. Balla also had a significant influence on artists like Severini and Boccioni, with whom he signed the Futurist Manifesto. He continued to work in painting and sculptural compositions and exhibited in Europe and in US until his death.