Fernando Botero, a well-known Colombian painter and sculptor whose images of people and objects in chubby, exaggerated proportions became symbols of Colombian art all over the world, has passed away. He was 91.
According to Lina Botero, her father passed away in Monaco on Friday morning as a result of complications from pneumonia.
In an exaggerated and vibrant shape that was instantly recognized, Botero portrayed politicians, animals, saints, and moments from his boyhood. Despite his humble beginnings, the artist achieved a worldwide reputation and influence during his lifetime. His paintings were displayed in museums all over the world, and his imposing bronze sculptures can be seen in the parks and avenues of numerous major cities in Europe and Latin America.
In a 2010 memoir of his father, Juan Carlos Botero stated, “His success was truly immense.” “Fernando Botero has developed a distinct, easily recognizable style.”
Due to his generous donations to his native Colombia, which included 23 statues that are now in a park in downtown Medellin and have grown to be one of the city’s most popular attractions, Botero enjoyed great respect there in addition to being well-known for his paintings that fetched millions of dollars at international auctions.
Additionally, Botero gave 180 paintings to the Central Bank of Colombia, which were utilized to build the Botero Museum in Bogota. His sculpture of a white, plump pigeon perched erect on a pedestal became a symbol of Colombia’s efforts to reach a peace agreement with rebel factions and is now displayed in a prominent gallery inside the country’s presidential palace.
Because Botero’s artwork invokes nostalgia for Colombia as it was in the early 20th century, it is well-liked among Colombians. His characters have beautifully manicured mustaches and bowler hats. They travel through a vibrant world of leafy trees, grassy hills, and homes with clay roof tiles.
President Gustavo Petro said on Friday on X, a platform that was once Twitter, “The painter of our traditions & our defects, the painter of our virtues has died.” He depicted both war and serenity. He created a portrait of a pigeon that had been rejected and placed on a throne 1,000 times.
Botero was born in Medelln, Colombia, on April 19, 1932. He was enrolled by an uncle when he was young at a school for bullfighting, but he quickly quit. He later painted scenes from this environment. At the age of 14, Botero made the decision to devote his life to the arts when he was successful in selling several sketches of bullfights to spectators outside the city’s bullring. Although she agreed with his choice, his mother warned him that he would have to pay for his education.
Bogota hosted Botero’s first solo show in 1951 after he took part in a group exhibition there as a teenager. The next year, he traveled to Madrid to attend the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts.
He left Europe and went to Mexico to research Diego Rivera’s and José Clemente Orozco’s art.
Botero married Gloria Zea while on the road, and the couple produced three children together: Fernando, Lina, and Juan Carlos. When he returned to Bogotá in 1958, he was named a professor at the National University’s School of Arts. He later got divorced and moved to New York in 1960, arriving there with just a few hundred bucks.
Botero started experimenting with the size of people and things in his paintings in the 1960s. By the time critics began to pay notice to his inventive and chubby works, the painter had produced hundreds of drawings in addition to roughly 1,000 paintings.
Botero divorced Cecilia Zambrano after their 1964 remarriage. They had a son named Pedro in 1970; he passed away in a vehicle accident in Spain four years later. The artwork “Pedrito” by Botero, which shows his kid astride a toy horse and donning a blue police costume, perfectly captures the grief of his son’s passing. In commemoration of the youngster, he also gave 16 pieces to the Museum of Antioquia in Medelln, and the museum later dedicated space to him as “Pedrito Botero.”
Botero gave up painting in the 1970s and started experimenting with sculptures made of bronze, marble, and cast iron, which was a very successful venture for him. Botero went back to painting in 1978, after which he alternated between the two.
He painted images from everyday life like a family picnic or a party in a ballroom from the early 20th century. He did, however, also address political issues, such as the passing of drug lord Pablo Escobar or the development of rebel groups.
In 1995, 22 people lost their lives and over 200 were hurt when an unknown perpetrator detonated his 1.8-ton bronze sculpture “The Bird,” which was on display in a park in Medellin.
In 2005, a year after the scandalous Abu Ghraib prison episode in Baghdad came to light, Botero produced a series of 79 paintings showing American soldiers torturing Iraqis there. The paintings were exhibited at the University of California Berkeley, where they eventually went on display after the artist battled to have them displayed in American museums; some of the works are still there today.
In an interview with Semana Magazine from 2007, Botero described his Abu Ghraib series as being “moved by the hypocrisy of the situation.” “A nation that promotes itself to the outside world as an example of compassion and a defender of human rights, ending up torturing people in the same jail where Saddam Hussein tortured people.”
In order to prevent distractions, Botero promised to paint in complete quiet every day from sunrise to sunset.
“One of the most disciplined guys you will ever meet is Fernando Botero. His relatives and friends attest to the fact that he works every day of the year. There are no weekends, holidays, or relaxation days for Botero, according to his son Juan Carlos Botero’s book. He is painting at Christmas. He is painting on his birthday. He is painting on New Year’s.
Botero has been frequently working at his Monaco studio up until last weekend, according to his daughter Lina, who spoke to Colombian radio station Blu on Friday. He was too frail to stand and hold larger brushes, she said, adding that he couldn’t work on oil paintings. Nevertheless, he was experimenting with water paints.