Page 94 - International Iconic July 2024

FERN ANDO
BOTERO

ernando Botero is one of the most renowned South American he began creating sculptures in addition to his work on canvas
artists of the contemporary era. Adapting a vibrant and bold and paper and producing works such as Big Hand, executed
F approach to the prevalent themes of Latin American art, in 1976-77. By the 1980s, Botero’s success led to large public
Botero has developed a style which is uniquely his own and at the commissions of his art. Botero Plaza in Medellín is now home to
same time, pays a tribute to the voluptuousness of the form in the 23 of his sculptures. His works can be found in the collections of
works of Old Masters. the world’s leading museums, such as Museo Nacional de Arte
Born in Medellín, Colombia, in 1932, Botero was four years Renia Sofía, Madrid, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the
old when his father passed away. While he was inclined towards Botero Museum, Bogotá, and others. They are also publicly
art from an early age, Botero first enrolled in a school to become installed on the streets of several global cities, including New York,
a bullfighter. During these early years he also made watercolour Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Jerusalem, and Bamberg in Germany.
paintings of bulls and matadors. One of his first illustrations was Botero created monumental sculptures for public spaces in
published in a leading newspaper when he was only 16 years old. numerous major cities, including New York (Park Avenue), Paris
After his first show in Bogotá in 1951, the artist travelled with a (Champs-Élysées), Rome, and Monte Carlo.
group of artists to Barcelona before moving to Madrid. During his His works are featured in significant private and public
stay in Spain, he came across and was enthralled by the works of collections such as the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,

“Art should be an oasis: a place or refuge from the hardness of life.”

the high Renaissance and Spanish Baroque, which would continue Smithsonian Institution (Washington, D.C.); Ho-am Museum
to inform his practice. (Seoul); Israel Museum (Jerusalem); Kunsthalle Nuremberg
His other inspirations included Spanish masters such as Pablo (Nuremberg); Museo d’Arte Moderna del Vaticano (Rome);
Picasso and Juan Gris, as well as Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. In Museum Moderne Kunst (Vienna); Neue Pinakothek (Munich);
1953, the artist moved to France and then to Florence, Italy. In Paris, Staatgalerie Moderne Kunst (Munich); Tel Aviv Museum of Art (Tel
he got the opportunity to study the works at the Louvre museum Aviv); The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York); The Museum
and in Italy, he encountered frescoes by the Masters of the Italian of Modern Art (New York); and The Solomon R. Guggenheim
Renaissance. Calling himself ‘the most Colombian of Colombian Museum (New York).
artists,’ Botero garnered widespread prominence in his country The artist’s importance in Colombia’s cultural landscape
after winning the top prize at the Salón de Artistas Colombianos cannot be overstated, and Museo Botero in Bogotá dedicated to
in 1958. Two years later, the artist moved to New York, where his work still draws a multitude of art lovers from his home country
he continued working on his trademark style and started to gain and across the world. Botero’s figures have also become icons
international recognition. of pop culture and been the subject of many art discussions. The
During the early 1970s, the artist settled in Paris, where artist passed away in 2023, in Monaco.