Bruno Caruso
Bruno Caruso (Italian: [ˈbruːno kaˈruːzo]; 8 August 1927 – 4 November 2018) was an Italian artist, graphic designer and writer. He spent much of his adult life working in Rome.
Bruno Caruso | |
|---|---|
Caruso painting at his studio in Rome, 2008 | |
| Born | 8 August 1927 Palermo, Italy |
| Died | 4 November 2018 (aged 91) Rome, Italy |
| Known for | Painting, Etching, Graphic Design, Illustration and Writing |
| Movement | Italian Neorealism, Social Realism |
| Spouse | Vivi Maggio |
| Partner | Lidia Olivetti |
| Awards | Gold Medal, Italian Medal of Merit for Culture and Art, Commander, Order of Merit of the Italian Republic |
| Elected | Accademia di San Luca |
| Patron(s) | Helena Rubenstein, Arthur Jeffress, Irene Brin |
| Website | bruno-caruso |
Caruso's work focused on the moral, political and ethical flaws of the 20th Century. He fought against the influence of Sicilian Mafia in Italian politics, protested against the Vietnam War, campaigned against the use of straitjackets in psychiatric wards, and championed the rights of Sicilian farmers in their battle for land ownership in the aftermath of World War II.
Over the course of his career, he created more than 25 collections of drawings, founded celebrated Sicilian cultural magazines, Sicilia and Ciclope, and illustrated works by Machiavelli, Kafka, Leonardo Sciascia, Giovanni Arpino and Giuseppe Ungaretti amongst many others.
Caruso's work has ended up in the collections of notable 20th-century patrons of the arts, including Helena Rubenstein, Arthur Jeffress and Irene Brin. In 1993 he was designated a 'commander' of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and in 2001 he received the Gold Medal of Merit for Culture and Art from the president of Italy. He was a member of the prestigious Accademia di San Luca.