Robert Rauschenberg's Scatoli Personale (1952-1953) emerged during a pivotal period of the artist's early career, marked by his exploration across Europe and North Africa alongside Cy Twombly. This period was characterized by a profound shift towards incorporating collage and sculpture into his work, focusing on a variety of motifs including transportation, the human form, and lettering. The Scatoli Personale and its counterpart Feticci Personali were the fruits of this exploration, created using found materials and presented in Florence and Rome. These works underscored Rauschenberg's burgeoning interest in blending everyday objects with traditional artistic mediums, setting the stage for his later innovations (Art in Context) (Artsy).
Upon returning to New York in 1952 after his travels and a swift divorce, Rauschenberg sought advice from his contemporaries, which led to the creation of his Black Series. This series, along with his explorations in Italy where he collected materials from abandoned junkyards, crystallized his interest in ordinary objects. The memorabilia he collected were initially housed in wooden boxes, later evolving into what Rauschenberg termed "assemblages." These early assemblages, including Scatole Personali, laid the groundwork for his lifelong fascination with integrating non-art materials into his works, thereby challenging the conventional boundaries of art (TheCollector).
Rauschenberg's journey through Europe and North Africa, and the subsequent creation of works like Scatoli Personale, were instrumental in his artistic development. This period not only influenced his stylistic evolution from painting to incorporating three-dimensional objects but also his conceptual approach to art, which increasingly sought to erase the distinctions between life and art. These explorations were vital precursors to his later, more recognized Combines, showcasing his innovative blend of painting and sculpture (Artsy). Through Scatoli Personale and similar works, Rauschenberg demonstrated his early commitment to challenging artistic norms and embracing the use of everyday objects, setting the stage for his significant contributions to Neo-Dadaism and, by extension, to the broader developments in contemporary art.