Renato Guttuso. Anima Mediterranea

From 17 October 2026 to 28 February 2027, the Museo Storico della Fanteria is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the great Sicilian artist, an extraordinary figure in 20th-century painting.

Organised on the initiative of the Ministry of Defence – Difesa Servizi S.p.A., ‘Renato Guttuso: anima mediterranea celebrates the deep bond between the artist and Mediterranean culture through about sixty works – including oil paintings, drawings and engravings – dating from the 1930s to the 1980s, from prestigious public and private collections: an evocative narrative which, through colours, shapes and symbols, accompanies the public into Guttuso’s imagery, conveying its intensity and expressive power.

The exhibition path, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi in collaboration with Marina Giordano and featuring a special installation by Ezio Pagano, unfolds in five sections – ‘Volti’ (Faces), a series of portraits and self-portraits – ‘maître à penser’, friends and fellow travellers – dating from the late 1930s, between Realism and elements of distortion; 'Sicilia' (Sicily), the energy of natural elements, faces and bodies working or resting, the sea and the sun, volcanic lava, parched vegetation and market colours; ‘Natura viva, Nature morte’ (Living Nature, Still Lifes), a journey through interiors and exteriors, through forms, intense colours and light; ‘Artista e Società' (Artist and Society), the depiction of labour, respect for hard work, and the evocation of social contrasts, blending neo-Cubist lines with delicate nuances; ‘Il femminile' (The Feminine), tributes to great painters, in which woman becomes a goddess and persecutor, a seductress and an inspiring muse.

Photo: RENATO GUTTUSO, La pesca del pesce spada, 1949, olio su tela 150 x 205 cm, Collezione Lino Mezzacane © Renato Guttuso, by SIAE 2026