5 Oct-10 Feb 2013. A major exhibition of paintings by Sicilian painter Renato Guttuso takes place on the centenary of the artist's birth, at Rome's Complesso del Vittoriano near Piazza Venezia.

Guttuso was an expressionist whose lively, bright paintings were often coloured by his strongly-held political beliefs and sense of social responsibility. "Guttuso 1912-2012" comprises 100 paintings and drawings, among them some of the artist's most famous pieces such as "Flight from Etna", "Crucifixion" and "La Vucciria". 

A native of the Palermo region, Guttuso began decorating Sicilian carts at an early age. In 1937 he moved to Rome to study and paint, establishing a studio on Via Margutta. The capital was to be his home for the next 50 years, until his death in 1987, and inspired some of the works in the exhibition, including "Tetti di Via Leonina" and "La Visita della Sera".

The exhibition also examines the extent to which Guttuso was influenced by leading avant-garde figures such as writer Alberto Moravia, sculptors Henry Moore and Giacomo Manzù, poets Pier Paolo Pasolini and Pablo Neruda, and director Luchino Visconti.

A number of the works are on loan from some of Europe's most prestigious institutions including London's Tate Gallery and Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza.

Mon-Thurs 09.30-19.30, Fri-Sat 09.30-23.30, Sun 09.30-20.30.