Renato Guttuso biography

Renato Guttuso was a well-known Italian painter, born on 26 December 1911 in Bagheria and died on 18 January 1987 in Rome. From a young age he showed a great predisposition for painting, influenced by his father, Gioacchino, land surveyor and amateur watercolourist, as well as by frequenting the studio of the painter Domenico Quattrociocchi and the workshop of the wagon painter Emilio Murdolo. From the age of thirteen he began to sign and date his paintings, mainly making copies of works by nineteenth-century Sicilian and French painters such as Millet, but also original paintings, including portraits.
During his adolescence, Renato Guttuso frequented the studio of the futurist painter Pippo Rizzo and the artistic circles of Palermo. In 1928, at just seventeen years old, he participated in his first collective exhibition in Palermo. His art is linked to expressionism and is characterized by a strong social commitment, which subsequently led him to political experience as a senator of the Italian Communist Party for two legislatures, during Enrico Berlinguer's secretariat.
Throughout his career , the painter explores various European figurative currents, including expressionism, social realism and neorealism. Sicilian motifs, such as lemon groves and Saracen olive trees, become increasingly present in his works.
In 1935 he moved to Milan for military service and here he came into contact with notable artists such as Giacomo Manzù, Renato Birolli, Lucio Fontana and Antonio Banfi. However, it is in Rome that Renato Guttuso finds his most significant artistic and political dimension. In 1937 he moved permanently to the capital and became part of the anti-twentieth century Roman artistic environment, making friends with important figures such as Mario Mafai, Antonietta Raphaël, Marino Mazzacurati and Corrado Cagli.
It is in this period that the artistic movement Corrente was formed, to which he joined. In the following years, Renato Guttuso continues to paint and exhibit his works in various national and international exhibitions. In 1940 he painted The Crucifixion, a painting that gave him great fame, but also aroused controversy due to its political content.
During the Second World War, he continued to work, painting still lifes, landscapes and creating a series of drawings entitled Massacres, which denounced Nazi repression. In the 1950s, Renato Guttuso explored social themes in his paintings, portraying farmers, workers and demonstrations for the occupation of uncultivated lands. In 1956 he painted Carretti a Bagheria and La Spiaggia, works that represent the maximum expression of his social realism.
Renato Guttuso also participated in various national and international exhibitions, receiving recognition and awards for his artistic production. In addition to his artistic career, he is actively involved in political life as a member of the Italian Communist Party. He was elected to the Senate of the Republic in 1976 and confirmed in the following elections in 1979. During his life, he donated numerous works to his hometown, Bagheria, which are preserved in the museum of Villa Cattolica.
Renato Guttuso is considered one of the most important Italian painters of the 20th century. His art, characterized by an expressionist style and a strong social commitment, has left a lasting imprint on the Italian and international artistic panorama. His works are exhibited in numerous museums and private collections around the world, testifying to his artistic greatness and his contribution to the history of art.