He was born into a patriotic and liberal family of the Emilia bourgeoisie (grandfather Venceslao Mucchi was president of the Court of Cassation in Turin, his uncle Agostino, conspirator with Ciro Menotti in the 1831 riots, repaired and died in Grenoble in 1839). His father Anton Maria, born in Reggio Emilia on May 27, 1871, is a well-regarded painter, from whom Gabriele learns the first notions of drawing. His mother is Countess Lucia Tracagni of Salò on the Garda, the eldest daughter of Count Fabio Tracagni of Desenzano. He spent his adolescence among famous people who frequented his father's atelier, such as Leonardo Bistolfi, Sibilla Aleramo, the "Uncle Anni" his spiritual guide, namely the philosopher Hannibal Pastore, Cesare Lombroso, Eusapia Palladino, celebrated Italian "medium" that Arthur Conan Doyle praised in his History of Spiritualism, Giovanni Cena and Auguste Rodin.

In 1915 he moved to Correggio in the Reggiano with his family from Catania, as Etna-Film had to close the film production, because it was prevented from the war and the director father was fired. After graduating from the Faculty of Engineering in Bologna in 1916, he met and strengthened his friendship with Corrado Alvaro, editor of Il Resto del Carlino. In 1918 he was called under the command with the rank of lieutenant of artillery, and has the baptism of fire on the Grappa. In 1923 he graduated in engineering and in 1924 moved to Rome as a clerk in the engineering firm. In Rome he met his friend Corrado Alvaro, who became a correspondent for Il Mondo and Sibilla Aleramo, performed four drawings for Our Goddess by Massimo Bontempelli, attended at that time the theater and the Bragaglia House of Art by Anton Giulio Bragaglia and the shrine of Roman intellectuality at Aragno with the poet Vincenzo Cardarelli. In the spring of 1925, she met the German sculptor Jenny Wiegmann (Genni) and later married.

In 1926 he moved to Milan and the following year he exhibited with the group of the twentieth century Italian. Meanwhile, his career as an illustrator is also starting thanks to the collaboration with the writers Achille Campanile(But what is this love,1927) and Cesare Zavattini(Let's talk a lot about me,1931 and The poor are crazy,1937). He has been participating in international art exhibitions in Venice since 1930 and, in 1933 and 1936, at the V and VI Triennale in Milan with paintings and decorative panels. Intellectual of anti-fascist ideas, he approached the Current movement and in 1943 joined the partisans of the Val d'Ossola and enlisted in the 186th Garibaldi Brigade. At the end of the war he returned to Milan and his civil commitment resulted in works of clear realist imprint. In the meantime, he continues his activity in the field of architecture that, started in the 1930s, sees him in 1947 participate in the construction of the accommodation in the QT8 district in Milan, for which he also designs the elements of furniture: with these studios he participates that same year at the 8th Triennale in Milan. In 1956 he was called to teach painting at the East Berlin Academy where he resided for a long time in the following years. The exhibition continues incessantly between Germany and Italy, as well as his activity as decorator and illustrator, the latter crowned in 1967 by the publication of voltaire's Candide.