Renato Guttuso

Renato Guttuso was born on December 26, 1911 in Bagheria near Palermo and died on January 18, 1987 in Rome. He was a painter and graphic artist, he also made stage sets and did book illustrations. Guttuso is considered the main representative of socialist realism in Italy (paintings of miners, fishermen, politics and strikes). From 1938/40 he was profoundly influenced by Picasso’s renowned work GUERNICA. The painter was also politically active and was a member of the Italian Communist Party as of 1940. In the 1970s he was elected to the Palermo City Council and served two terms as a senator. Guttuso exhibited for many years at the Venice Biennale. In 1960 he even had his own exhibit hall there. In 1977 he exhibited at Documenta 6 in Kassel Germany. Shortly before his death, he donated a large part of his work to the “Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna” in Rome. In Sicily, his earlier works can be viewed at the Villa Cattolica in his hometown of Bagheria at the Museo Guttuso, in whose garden he was buried.