Renato Guttuso Biography

Renato Guttuso was one of Italy’s most celebrated painters who left behind a body of work that would be the envy of most of the artists. He was also a member of the banned Italian Communist Party and this made him a direct enemy of the fascists, who ruled the country during his youth. Guttuso, born in a small town in Sicily, was a child prodigy, who started dating all his work like any professional artist would do when he was only 13 years old and although he did have to work in a few regular jobs in order to sustain himself; he was always a painter first. Guttuso became involved in a movement in Italy that tried to make sure that artists were able to express themselves freely through their art without any ideological shackles and after the Second World War, he was instrumental in promoting the work of artists whose works were denounced by the fascists. Guttuso was also a political person and as a member of the communist party, he continued to write against the fascists. His work reflected his ideals and created plenty of paintings that depicted the day to day lives of labourers and similar working class people.