Baldessari studied at the Accademia in Venice under Guglielmo Ciardi for painting and under Emanuele Brugnoli for printmaking. In 1914 he moved to Florence, where he joined the futurist group, which included Ottone Rosai, Ardengo Soffici and Primo Conti. In those same years a trip to Milan allowed him to make the acquaintance of Marinetti and other Lombard futurists. Around 1920 he began to travel in Europe, coming in touch with Liebermann, Archipenko, Kurt Schwitters, Vordemberge-Gildewart and Justus Bier. Baldessari returned to Italy in 1925, bringing his art closer to the figurative and beginning an intense period of exhibitions, both at home and abroad, during which the artist practiced assiduously painting, printmaking and, since the thirties, the fresco decoration. In 1940 Baldessari moved to Rovereto where he joined the local group of Der Blaue Reiter and the Associazione degli Incisori Veneziani.