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 5 of a 6-part series on the works of Fernando Botero:
1997 Woman with Dog
oil on canvas 132 x 100 cm1998 Woman with Crochet Hook
oil on canvas 172 x 114 cm1998 A Lawyer
pastel, charcoal, watercolour and pencil on canvas
125.7 x 103.8 cm1999 Woman drinking
oil on canvas 50.2 x 39.6 cm1999 Still Life with Fruit Bowl
oil on canvas 98 x 135 cm1999 Mother and Child
graphite and pastel on paper 46.7 x 39.2 cm1999 Man on a Horse
bronze 348 cm high x 169 cm wide x 230 cm deep1999 Man at the Piano
oil on canvas 42.8 x 34.5 cm1999 Horse
bronze with dark brown patina 269.2 x 260 x 138 cm1999 Girl with Flower
oil on canvas 201.9 x 175.9 cm2000 The Thief
oil on canvas 133 x 94 cm2000 The Reader
oil on canvas 42.2 x 36.5 cm2000 Still Life
oil on canvas 96 x 119 cm2000 Flowers
oil on canvas 257.8 x 196.8 cm2001 Woman with a Vase of Sunflowers
graphite on handmade paper 38.7 x 29.5 cm2001 Man with a Book
oil on canvas 35.5 x 45.5 cm2002 Woman in Blue
oil on canvas 114.3 x 91.5 cm2002 The Rape of Europa
bronze with brown patina 60 x 45 x 20 cm2002 Seated Man
sanguine on paper 39.4 x 29.5 cm2002 Man with a Horse
sanguine on paper 38.1 x 27.9 cm2002 Man on a Horse
oil on canvas 44.5 x 34.3 cm2002 A Family
sanguine on paper 35.6 x 27.9 cm2003 Woman asleep on a Bed
charcoal and white chalk on canvas 85.4 x 103.2 cm2003 Society Woman
oil on canvas 155 x 122 cm2003 Man with Banjo
oil on canvas 92.5 x 75 cm2003 Guitar Players
oil on canvas 28.5 x 37.3 cm2003 Ballerina
oil on canvas 51.4 x 36.8 cmc2004 Bird
marble 55 x 17 x 14 cm2004 Seated Woman
graphite on paper 40 x 30 cm2004 Landscape
oil on canvas 76 x 62 cm2004 Boy on a Swing
oil on canvas 112 x 90 cm2004 Bowl of Fruits
charcoal and watercolour on canvas 101 x 121.3 cm2005 Woman on a Horse
bronze 56.4 x 40.4 x 28.4 cm2005 Violin on a Chair
oil on canvas 165 x 123 cm2005 The Seamstress
oil on canvas 191.1 x 117.1 cm2005 The Seamstress
pastel and pencil on paper laid down on paper
37.3 x 30.2 cm2005 The Bather
oil on canvas 132 x 170.2 cm2005 Picador
oil on canvas 152 x 122 cm2006 Pas de Deux
watercolour on paper 40.9 x 30.5 cm2006 Mother Superior
oil on canvas 193 x 127 cm2006 Hose balancing Dancer
sanguin on paper 40.6 x 30.5 cm2006 Good Morning
oil on canvas 130 x 150.5 cm2006 Bird
bronze 39.4 x 29.8 x 40 cm2006 The Letter
mixed media on paper 38.5 x 31 cm2006 Still life on a Pedestal Table
watercolour and pencil on paper 37.2 x 30.8 cm2006 Still Life
graphite and watercolour on paper 40.4 x 30.2 cm2006 Still Life
charcoal on paper 36.5 x 29.8 cm2006 Reclining Nude
white marble 17.8 x 54.6 x 21.6 cm2007 Clown in his Trailer
oil on canvas 152.4 x 102.9 cm2007 Circus Woman
oil on canvas 165.1 x 97.8 cm2007 Circus Performer with Monkey
oil on canvas 78.4 x 59.4 cm
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