Renato Guttuso was born in Bagheria (near Palermo) in 1912. He began to paint at the age of eleven in the studio of a local painter of Sicilian carts. Later, he attended the studios of the Post Impressionist artist Quattrociocchi and of the Futurist, Sicilian artist Rizzo. After the success obtained at the first Quadriennale in Rome, he abandoned university to concentrate entirely on painting. In the Thirties he became friends with the artists of the Roman School, creating artworks of high quality. In 1947 he was among the founders of the Fronte Nuovo delle Arti, a follower of the figurative realism of political-social inspiration. Renato Guttuso had a keen eye on Picasso’s work, which represented his principal stylistic and moral model for the rest of his life. In the following years he continued to represent great narrations of contemporary episodes, images of politics and of social critics, often with evidently allegorical tones. In doing this, his painting was always characterised by strong coloured highlights of Expressionist inspiration. Renato Guttuso died in Rome in 1987.