Death of a Hero, 1953

This work epitomises Renato Guttuso’s thematic preoccupations and vigorous stylistic approach. The red flag in the background identifies the figure’s Communist affiliations, while his status as a martyr is emphasised by Guttuso’s allusion to the foreshortened pose of Mantegna’s Dead Christ. Throughout his life, Guttuso championed the notion that art should be of its time, accessible to all and, above all, ‘useful’. Picasso’s Guernica (1937) was an important early touchstone for him, and there are frequent echoes of the Spanish painter’s imagery in his own work. Guttuso’s efforts to use art to prompt political or social change were recognised during his lifetime. During the 1970s he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize at a major retrospective of his work in Moscow, and was also made a Senator of the Italian Republic. Long known as Death of a Hero, the title Proletarian Hero appears on the rear of the canvas.