Fernando Botero: Legend of the Arts in Colombia
Fernando Botero was a Colombian artist who revolutionized art. He changed the way to depict classical figures in a more rounded creative aspect. He named his style “Boterismo”.
Fernando Botero was born on April 19, 1932, in Medellin, Colombia. Through his upbringing, he was surrounded by Spanish colonial architecture which were depicted in many parts of his artwork. Initially, as he pursued his art, he decided to start in Europe. He began by copying the great masters of the arts. He was inspired by the Prado museum in Spain, such as Fransisco de Goya and Diego Vasquez, in Italy, with Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca.
Through them, he began to find his style and his way of seeing figures. He began to find the exotic aspects of the female figure by showing the body as chunky and with sensuality. He began to carve the path to what today makes him one of the most remarkable artists in history.
In the 1960s, he moved to New York City where he emphasized mainly on his style. He began to explore the cultural background of Colombia and emphasized depicting the dancing and the cultural aspects of life. He also began to change the aspects of the known masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa into his style.
“An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why,” he reflected. “You adopt a position intuitively, only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it.” — Artnet
Fernando Botero not only emphasized the female figure and in the classics of art but throughout his time, he lived through the violence that was impacting Colombia. He lived through the era of “Colombian violence” (1948–1957) in which atrocities were filling the streets of Colombia, mainly Bogota and Medellin. Through this era, he decided to portray what was going on and being in his memories from when he was a child living in Colombia. He began to show the beauty of the Pre-Columbian artifacts to bring peace to the situation the country was going through. Yet, also expresses the anxiety he had from the violence by portraying the death of one of the most famous drug lords in Colombia, Pablo Escobar. He wanted to emphasize the pain the man caused in so many people’s lives in Colombia.
In 1992, Fernando Botero first exhibited his artwork in Paris, France. He showcased his most iconic sculptures and paintings in the Champs-Élysées and the grand Palais. Since then, he began to transition his art through New York and Spain.
Through the last years of his life, Fernando Botero decided to donate his artwork to his home in Colombia, Medellin where now, they hold 21 sculptures in a square called Plaza Botero as well as in the Museo Botero in Bogota.
His artwork pays tribute to another aspect of beauty and sensuality. Botero passed away on September 15th, 2023 in Monaco. Today most of his artworks are found across different parts of the US, Colombia, and Europe.
