Hans-Joachim Staude has been the most 'Italian' among his generation's painters and this publication witnesses the European breadth of his research, which is closely connected with the Italian Novecento. This publication focuses on the German painter's humanistic culture as well as on major modern influences on his work, enhancing our understanding of his painting which was rediscovered with the exhibition held in Florence at the Galleria d'Arte Moderna in 1996.