Lithograph depicting a still life with a jacket, created by Renato Guttuso in the 1960s.

Ø cm 104 h cm 88 including frame

Renato Guttuso (Bagheria, December 26, 1911 – Rome, January 18, 1987) was one of the most important and representative figures of Italian art in the 20th century. A prominent painter of Realism, his work is characterized by a strong political and social commitment, intense expressiveness, and a vibrant use of color.

Born in Bagheria, Sicily, to a family of wealthy landowners, Guttuso showed a predisposition for drawing and painting from a young age. His training was largely self-taught, although he briefly attended the studio of the painter Domenico Quattrociocchi in Palermo. The study of the great masters of the past was crucial, from those of the Italian Renaissance to the French realists of the nineteenth century.
In the Thirties, he moved to Milan, where he came into contact with the artistic and intellectual environment that revolved around the "Corrente" movement, a group of artists who opposed the conformism of the fascist regime and promoted a committed art connected to social reality.
Guttuso was a staunch anti-fascist and joined the Italian Communist Party. During World War II, he participated in the Roman Resistance. His political and civil commitment is constantly reflected in his work.
In the post-war period, Guttuso became one of the main exponents of Italian Realism, an artistic movement that aimed to represent social reality and the living conditions of the working classes. His painting became increasingly intense and dramatic, with an expressive use of color and a strong emotional charge.
Guttuso received numerous international awards and his works are exhibited in the most important museums in the world. He continued to paint until his death, which occurred in Rome in 1987.