Claudio Cantini was born in Pieve Fosciana, in the province of Lucca, on 10 July 1954. He was drawn to oil painting as a child, and it has remained his medium of choice. After qualifying as a surveyor he attended art schools, including Villa Trossi Uberti in Livorno, as well as the studios of several Livorno painters, where he immersed himself in the Labronica tradition.

From that school he absorbed a language close to the Macchiaioli of Livorno and Florence, and over time, through study and exploration, he has developed a personal style: atmospheres from another age conveyed with contemporary luminosity and freshness. He paints bucolic scenes, villages and historic town centres, seeking to capture their essence, colours and seasons, with light and shadow that heighten their beauty.

He has taken part in group and solo exhibitions in Livorno, Lucca, Pescara, Cortona, Rome, Volterra and Trieste.