Italian painter who began his career in 1928. In 1930, he studied Law at Palermo University but gave up the course soon after having taken part in the Rome Quadrennial in 1931. His initial style was mainly marked by the ideas of the Italian group, Novecento. After 1933, however, Guttuso began to be influenced by the metaphysical painting of Carlo Carra and Giorgio De Chirico. In 1939, he exhibited with the anti-fascist association, Corrente and in 1940 joined the Communist party, becoming a senator in 1976. After the Second World War, Guttuso became one of the central figures in the process of cultural transformation in Italy, forming the group Fonte Nuovo delle Arti, in Rome. Between 1952 and 1972, he participated regularly in the Venice Biennale. In 1977, he took part in Documenta 6, in Kassel and, in 1982, he had a major retrospective at the Palacio Grassi in Venice. Guttuso was one of the leaders of Italian Social Realism.
