Guttuso, Renato (1912–1987)

Italian painter. He was a leading exponent of social realism during and after World War II and a committed anti-Fascist. While other artists explored abstraction in the 1950s, Guttuso adhered to his forceful realist style. Social and political comment remained an essential part of his work, as in Occupation of Uncultivated Land in Sicily 1949–50 (Gemaldgalerie Neue Meister, Dresden).

His varied subject matter includes street scenes, land and seascapes, still lifes, interiors, nudes, and large allegories of contemporary life based on well-known works by old and modern masters.