Fernando Botero
Bio
Fernando Botero (1932-2023), Colombian painter, draftsman, and sculptor, began his artistic journey at age 12, drawing scenes from "fiesta brava" before experimenting with watercolors and oil painting. His first major work, “In vino veritas” (1948), showcased his early interest in volumetric shapes, influenced by Antioquian culture. In the 1950s and 60s, Botero refined his style, blending abstract expressionism with figuration. By 1968, he defined his signature style, characterized by exaggerated volumes and proportions, inspired by Colombian popular life and Latin American traditions. In 1973, after living in New York, Botero moved to Paris and expanded into sculpture. His works, known for their personal and unique approach, resist contemporary "isms" and are deeply rooted in classical and popular art. Major museums hold his works, including MoMA and the Smithsonian.
Statement
If we were to cite a single common characteristic for all of Botero's work, it would be the sensuality generated through volume. In his artistic creation, the power to transform beauty and the nature that redeems bodies, inherent to the universe, are expressed. In most of his works, Botero accentuates this aspect of aesthetic sensibility to manifest in them his own joie de vivre. This is how he translates the humanity he expresses with a great sense of humor behind the impassive mask of being human. Botero's work is universal in that it presents images that, although they have a clear identity to life in Latin America, are part of all societies. This is how his work has become a contemporary icon recognized around the world, and this Boteroian aesthetic has been immortalized in his drawings, paintings and sculptures.
Additional information
Firma:
Firmada y fechada 'Botero 69' en la parte inferior derecha.
Titulada 'Cebollas Españolas #2' en el dorso.
Firmada y fechada 'Botero 69' en el dorso.
Bibliografía:
K. Gallwitz, A. Mutis, and T. Atkinson, Botero, Munich, Edition Galerie
Buchholz, 1970, p. 80 (ilustrado).
G. Soavi, Fernando Botero, Milan, Fabbri Editori, 1988, p. 107, no. 79
(ilustrado).
30-09-22: AD. Christie's . Latin American art. New York. Lote 9 $ 352,800
Provenance:
Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg (1970).
Private collection, Germany (June 1970).
By descent from the above to the present owner.
2.5 x 4m / 98.4 x 157 in
