Luigi-Emilio Serena was born in Montebelluna on 1 August 1855. He spent his early childhood with his parents, Pietro Antonio and Rosalia Vergani, in his home town. In the 1860s, the family moved to Murano, where his relatives had a long tradition as master glassmakers. This return to family roots dates back to a time when the Serena family had already spread throughout the Veneto region in the first half of the 18th century.
In Murano, Serena began to learn the first rudiments of the art and the secrets of glassmaking, first under his father's guidance, then by enrolling in the School of Applied Design in the Art of Glassmaking.
From 1870 to 1875, Serena attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice thanks to a scholarship. These years were crucial for his artistic growth where he distinguished himself for his skill and won numerous prizes, including first prize in various disciplines such as figure, bust, osteology, anatomy and statuary. In the last two years of his studies, he attended the School of Painting and Nude.
Despite the influence of academic teaching, Serena and his companions developed a freer and more personal style, close to the Macchiaioli movement.
In 1878, after spending a long period in Venice, he returned to Treviso, where he settled permanently. Here, in his studio in Via Commenda, he lived and worked, producing his most mature works, which reflect his deep connection with popular themes. These themes, observed or experienced in everyday life, become the heart of his art, expressed with a refined technique that gives his works a poetic quality.
In Treviso, Serena found the inspiration that fuels his creativity. Despite a quiet life in the provinces, he continues to participate in important art exhibitions, both in Italy and abroad.
Serena's poor health and unhealthy life hindered the artist financially, putting a brake on his rise. In fact, he is often forced by necessity to work on commission, thus not by free choice of themes and emotions. Probably in order to cope with the immediate difficulties, Serena dedicated many of his early 20th century works to portraits.
On 12 March 1911, Luigi Serena, reduced to semi-blindness, died alone and almost forgotten, at the age of 56. After his death, the municipality of Treviso dedicated an exhibition to him. In 1914, again in Treviso, a bronze bust was unveiled to commemorate the artist, who had perhaps not received the recognition he deserved during his lifetime. In 1928, the municipality decided to exhume Serena's body to offer him a more dignified burial. Finally, in 1951, on the centenary of his birth, a retrospective was organised as part of the Second Provincial Exhibition of Contemporary Art.