Fernando Botero’s inimitable style of voluminous figures that has positioned him on the world stage as undoubtedly the most important and recognisable Colombian modern painter. Botero developed this signature technique early in his career in the 1960s, and yet his recent work continues to impress upon us the artist’s masterful accomplishments and complex trajectory.
Born in the city of Medellin in 1932, Botero had little access to modern art and was thus influenced by the Spanish colonial art found in the chapels of his home town. He earned a scholarship to study abroad in Spain in 1952, where he discovered a catalogue of Italian Renaissance art that reproduced Piero della Francesca’s fresco The Queen of Sheba Adoring the Holy Wood from the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. Enthralled by this work, Botero became obsessed with the sensuality of forms in Italian Renaissance art. Inspired, he moved to Florence to study under the renowned art historian and scholar, Roberto Longhi. Botero’s early paintings evince a deep understanding of both old masters, including Diego Velázquez and Giotto, as well as modern artists, such as Giorgio de Chirico. Botero later traveled to Mexico, where he experienced firsthand the work of Los Tres Grandes: Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. The monumental scale of the Mexican modernists’ figures paired with their decisive social commentary had a strong impact on Botero’s work, compelling him to experiment with excessive volume and proportions, tools that he would use to intensify the mordant comments he made on society’s shortcomings. Botero died in 2023.
Part 3 of a 6-part series on the works of Fernando Botero:
1979 Woman on a Balcony
oil on canvas 94.6 x 78.7 cm1979 The Musicians
oil on canvas 217.2 x 189.9 cm1979 The Bedroom
oil on canvas 194 x 134 cm1979 Still Life with Oranges
pastel on paper 85.1 x 118.1 cm1979 Still Life with Grapes
watercolour on paper 46.4 x 61 cm1980 Untitled (Female Skeleton)
pastel and watercolour on paper laid down on canvas
177.1 x 105.7 cm1980 The Toilette
oil on canvas 185.4 x 145.3 cm1980 Still Life with grey Pitcher
watercolour on paper mounted on canvas
112.4 x 148.9 cm1980 Poodle on a Cushion
oil on canvas 91.4 x 76.8 cm1980 Paradise
oil on paper laid down on wood panel
35.5 x 41.5 cm1980 Man Smoking
oil on canvas 189.8 x 136.2 cm1980-85 Still Life with Watermelon
sanguine and white chalk on paper 35.2 x 45.4 cm1981 Madame Gres
charcoal and pastel on paper 43 x 36 cm1981 Little Girl
bronze with dark brown patina
106.7 x 61 x 40.6 cm1981 Dog
bronze 73.7 x 76.2 x 68.6 cm1981 Dog
bronze 68.6 x 64.6 x 40.6 cm1981 Adam and Eve
bronze (details not found)1981 Woman with Bun
watercolour on paper 95 x 75 cm1981 Woman dressed by Hanai Mori
watercolour on canvas 160 x 118 cm1981 Still Life with Sausages
watercolour on paper laid down on canvas
160.3 x 112.7 cm1981 Seated Woman
graphite and charcoal on paper 43.8 x 35.6 cm1981 Nun Eating an Apple
oil on canvas 101.5 x 91.5 cm1981-82 Head
Siena marble 48.9 x 34.3 x 36.8 cm1982 The Cardinal
watercolour on paper 186 x 108 cm1982 Teresita
oil on canvas 113 x 73 cm1982 Still Life with Bottle
oil on canvas 110.5 x 167.6 cm1982 Hunter
oil on canvas 161.6 x 110.8 cm1982 Girl looking at herself in the Mirror
charcoal on canvas 150.7 x 114.3 cm1982 Dancing Couple
oil on canvas 150 x 107.6 cm1982 Colombian eating a Banana
oil on canvas 110.2 x 79.1 cm1983 Saint George
sanguine and ink on paper 51.3 x 39.6 cm1983 Lady in Profile
oil on canvas 88.9 x 70.2 cm1983 Lady in Profile
oil on canvas 88.9 x 70.2 cm1984 The Picador
oil on canvas 154 x 121.9 cm1984 The Picador
oil on canvas 50 x 55.5 cm1984 Flamenco Venue
oil on canvas 201.3 x 202.6 cm1984 Man and Horse
oil on canvas 178.4 x 125.3 cm1984 Girl
watercolour on paper 43.5 x 33 cm1984 Four Musicians
oil on canvas 221.3 x 185 cm1984 Flamenco
oil on canvas 201.3 x 202.6 cm1984 Bullfighter
oil on canvas 180.3 x 127 cm1985 Valerito
oil on canvas 69.9 x 61.8 cm1985 Picador in the Bullring
oil on canvas 168.9 x 99.1 cm1985 Family Scene
oil on canvas 169 x 179 cm by 1985Antonio Chaves "Chavito"
oil on canvas 183 x 106.6 cm1986 The Bull
oil on linen 197 x 161 cm1986 La Siesta
oil on canvas 143.8 x 126.7 cm1986 In the Sand
oil on canvas 40 x 50 cm1986 Archangel
oil on canvas 78.7 x 53.5 cm1986 Woman with Hat
oil on canvas 113 x 74 cm1986 The Spinster
oil on canvas 191.8 x 128.9 cm1986 The Picador
oil on canvas (details not found)1986 The Musicians
oil on canvas 177 x 137 cm
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