After secondary studies at the Lycée Carnot in Tunis, Aly Ben Salem entered the School of Fine Arts. A pupil of Armand Vergeaud, he distinguished himself in his early days by an attachment to the traditions of his country which he reproduced in the majority of his paintings. His works are similar to miniatures in the meticulous rendering of characters and objects. His first personal exhibition held at the Rotonde of the Coliseum in Tunis dates from 1934. In 1936, he obtained two first prizes and in 1937, he decorated the Tunisian Pavilion at the International Exhibition in Paris. His stay in the French capital is an opportunity to discover different schools of painting. He exhibited there at the Latin Union gallery, Quai des Grands Augustins. In 1939, he exhibited in Stockholm. During the war, he teaches in Sfax then he will divide his time between Tunisia and Sweden where he will make numerous exhibitions.