Renato Guttuso

(Italian, 1911–1987)

Renato Guttuso was an Italian artist known for his association with the Socialist Realism movement popular in the Soviet Union. A fervent opponent of Fascism and a devoted communist, Guttuso’s works carried a strong political message, as seen in his troubling Execution by Firing Squad in the Countryside (1938), a painting depicting the violent assassination of the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca by fascist militia. His expressive brushstrokes and rich use of warm reds and browns, can be seen in his painting La Vuicciria (1974), a scene of a bustling market in Palermo. Born on December 26, 1912 in Bagheria, Sicily, he gave up studying law at Palermo University to pursue a career as an artist. Having shown an aptitude for drawing at a young age, his early style reflected the influence of Giorgio de Chirico. The artist went on to exhibit two of his paintings in 1931 at the showcase, Prima Quadriennale d’Arte Nazionale de Roma. Guttuso died January 18, 1987 in Rome at the age of 75. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Tate Gallery in London, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Palazzo Ruspoli in Rome, among others.