Szyszlo was born in Lima, Peru; his mother was Peruvian of Spanish-Indian descent, and his father was a geographer from Poland. In 1943, Szyszlo entered the architecture school of the National University of Engineering, but abandoned plans to follow that profession and enrolled in the School of Plastic Arts of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. After his graduation in 1948, he traveled to Europe where he studied the works of the masters, particularly Rembrandt, Titian and Tintoretto, and absorbed the varied influences of Cubism, Surrealism, Informalism, and abstraction.
Szyszlo's background: Peruvian, Spanish-Indian heritage; Polish father, a geographer.  His artistic journey involved studying European masters like Rembrandt, Titian, and Tintoretto, absorbing influences from Cubism, Surrealism, Informalism, and abstraction.