Photo Credit: artforum.com
Fernando Botero was dubbed “the Picasso of Latin America.” He was a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor who was recognized internationally for his work. He was born on April 19, 1932, in the city of Medellin and died on September 15, 2023, at 91 from pneumonia.
According to a publication from Britanica, “As a youth, Botero attended a school for matadors for several years, but his true interest was in art. While still a teenager, he began painting and was inspired by the pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial art that surrounded him as well as by the political work of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.”
The art of Botero is renowned for its fusion of volume, color, irony, and sensitivity as an expression of the sensuality of form. An article published by scmp.com noted that Botero “was a passionate and tireless artist, [who had] over 3,000 paintings and 300 sculptures proof of an insatiable appetite to create.”
Botero had his sculptures and paintings exhibited in different countries such as Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Panama, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Monaco, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, China, Japan, and Korea.
Most of Botero’s photographic output and twenty-three of his most famous sculptures are on display in the Museum of Antioquia and the Botero Plaza Park, in Medellin, Colombia, which is Botero’s hometown.
“Pedrito on horse” sculpture. Photo Credit: atlasobscura.com
“Pedrito on horse” is the name of the most famous sculpture of Botero. The sculpture is the representation of his son, who died in a car accident. Botero condenses his pain and anguish over the loss of his son, using shape and color as symbolic elements to convey the meaning of the tragedy.
The position of the horse, standing on four legs, shows that Botero’s son did not die in a traumatic way but in a natural way, even though he died in a car accident.
In Argentina they enjoy “the Male Torso,” a sculpture with an unmistakable silhouette in Thays Park in Buenos Aires
“The Male Torso” sculpture. Photo Credit: nationalgeographic.com
According to nationalgeographic.com, the sculpture “combines abstraction and body art, which means to exaggerate the volume and express the object image with curves and colors.”
This sculpture is a view of a fit man’s body.
“The Presidential Family.” Photo Credit: infobae.com
According to an article from infobae.com, “The Presidential Family is an oil on canvas measuring 203.5 x 196.2 cm” that was painted in 1967.”
The painting represents power, specifically the power of the Colombian president, the masculine figure on the left side of the picture.
The president’s wife, his daughter, and a grandmother can also be seen on the left, while a general and a bishop appear on the right.
Today, we can see the painting hanging on the walls of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York.
