Roger von Gunten was born in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1933 and became a Mexican citizen in 1981. He learned to paint at his father's side since he was a child, thus forming the idea of becoming an artist. From 1947 to 1952 he studied painting and graphic design at the Zürich Kunstgewerbeschüle (School of Arts and Crafts), under the direction of Johannes Itten, professor artist of the Bauhaus. Upon his arrival in Mexico in 1957 he continued his studies at the Universidad Iberoamericana (Iberoamerican University), where he learned Metal Engraving under the direction of the artist and master Guillermo Silva Santamaría.