Contadini al lavoro 1950

Here we have Guttuso's "Contadini al lavoro" – peasants at work – painted with what looks like oil on canvas. The color palette is very grounded, like the ochres and browns of the earth itself, the lifeblood of the working classes depicted. There’s something immediate, guttural even, about how Guttuso has applied the paint. There’s real physicality to it, like he’s wrestling the paint into place with each stroke. It’s a world away from some kind of polished, academic style. I mean, look at the field, how the dark lines push and pull. You can almost feel the heat and the dust and sweat. And then you look at the bodies of the labourers – he’s not shying away from the harshness of their labour. It reminds me a little of some of the Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera, although Guttuso feels rawer, more immediate. With Guttuso, nothing is ever really resolved and there's a sense of continual change.