Fernando Botero’s inimitable style of voluminous figures that has positioned him on the world stage as undoubtedly the most important and recognisable Colombian modern painter. Botero developed this signature technique early in his career in the 1960s, and yet his recent work continues to impress upon us the artist’s masterful accomplishments and complex trajectory.
Born in the city of Medellin in 1932, Botero had little access to modern art and was thus influenced by the Spanish colonial art found in the chapels of his home town. He earned a scholarship to study abroad in Spain in 1952, where he discovered a catalogue of Italian Renaissance art that reproduced Piero della Francesca’s fresco The Queen of Sheba Adoring the Holy Wood from the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo. Enthralled by this work, Botero became obsessed with the sensuality of forms in Italian Renaissance art. Inspired, he moved to Florence to study under the renowned art historian and scholar, Roberto Longhi. Botero’s early paintings evince a deep understanding of both old masters, including Diego Velázquez and Giotto, as well as modern artists, such as Giorgio de Chirico. Botero later traveled to Mexico, where he experienced firsthand the work of Los Tres Grandes: Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco. The monumental scale of the Mexican modernists’ figures paired with their decisive social commentary had a strong impact on Botero’s work, compelling him to experiment with excessive volume and proportions, tools that he would use to intensify the mordant comments he made on society’s shortcomings. Botero died in 2023.
Part 5 of a 6-part series on the works of Fernando Botero:
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| 1997 Woman with Dog oil on canvas 132 x 100 cm |
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| 1998 Woman with Crochet Hook oil on canvas 172 x 114 cm |
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| 1998 A Lawyer pastel, charcoal, watercolour and pencil on canvas 125.7 x 103.8 cm |
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| 1999 Woman drinking oil on canvas 50.2 x 39.6 cm |
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| 1999 Still Life with Fruit Bowl oil on canvas 98 x 135 cm |
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| 1999 Mother and Child graphite and pastel on paper 46.7 x 39.2 cm |
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| 1999 Man on a Horse bronze 348 cm high x 169 cm wide x 230 cm deep |
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| 1999 Man at the Piano oil on canvas 42.8 x 34.5 cm |
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| 1999 Horse bronze with dark brown patina 269.2 x 260 x 138 cm |
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| 1999 Girl with Flower oil on canvas 201.9 x 175.9 cm |
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| 2000 The Thief oil on canvas 133 x 94 cm |
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| 2000 The Reader oil on canvas 42.2 x 36.5 cm |
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| 2000 Still Life oil on canvas 96 x 119 cm |
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| 2000 Flowers oil on canvas 257.8 x 196.8 cm |
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| 2001 Woman with a Vase of Sunflowers graphite on handmade paper 38.7 x 29.5 cm |
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| 2001 Man with a Book oil on canvas 35.5 x 45.5 cm |
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| 2002 Woman in Blue oil on canvas 114.3 x 91.5 cm |
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| 2002 The Rape of Europa bronze with brown patina 60 x 45 x 20 cm |
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| 2002 Seated Man sanguine on paper 39.4 x 29.5 cm |
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| 2002 Man with a Horse sanguine on paper 38.1 x 27.9 cm |
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| 2002 Man on a Horse oil on canvas 44.5 x 34.3 cm |
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| 2002 A Family sanguine on paper 35.6 x 27.9 cm |
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| 2003 Woman asleep on a Bed charcoal and white chalk on canvas 85.4 x 103.2 cm |
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| 2003 Society Woman oil on canvas 155 x 122 cm |
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| 2003 Man with Banjo oil on canvas 92.5 x 75 cm |
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| 2003 Guitar Players oil on canvas 28.5 x 37.3 cm |
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| 2003 Ballerina oil on canvas 51.4 x 36.8 cm |
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| c2004 Bird marble 55 x 17 x 14 cm |
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| 2004 Seated Woman graphite on paper 40 x 30 cm |
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| 2004 Landscape oil on canvas 76 x 62 cm |
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| 2004 Boy on a Swing oil on canvas 112 x 90 cm |
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| 2004 Bowl of Fruits charcoal and watercolour on canvas 101 x 121.3 cm |
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| 2005 Woman on a Horse bronze 56.4 x 40.4 x 28.4 cm |
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| 2005 Violin on a Chair oil on canvas 165 x 123 cm |
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| 2005 The Seamstress oil on canvas 191.1 x 117.1 cm |
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| 2005 The Seamstress pastel and pencil on paper laid down on paper 37.3 x 30.2 cm |
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| 2005 The Bather oil on canvas 132 x 170.2 cm |
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| 2005 Picador oil on canvas 152 x 122 cm |
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| 2006 Pas de Deux watercolour on paper 40.9 x 30.5 cm |
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| 2006 Mother Superior oil on canvas 193 x 127 cm |
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| 2006 Hose balancing Dancer sanguin on paper 40.6 x 30.5 cm |
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| 2006 Good Morning oil on canvas 130 x 150.5 cm |
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| 2006 Bird bronze 39.4 x 29.8 x 40 cm |
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| 2006 The Letter mixed media on paper 38.5 x 31 cm |
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| 2006 Still life on a Pedestal Table watercolour and pencil on paper 37.2 x 30.8 cm |
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| 2006 Still Life graphite and watercolour on paper 40.4 x 30.2 cm |
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| 2006 Still Life charcoal on paper 36.5 x 29.8 cm |
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| 2006 Reclining Nude white marble 17.8 x 54.6 x 21.6 cm |
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| 2007 Clown in his Trailer oil on canvas 152.4 x 102.9 cm |
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| 2007 Circus Woman oil on canvas 165.1 x 97.8 cm |
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| 2007 Circus Performer with Monkey oil on canvas 78.4 x 59.4 cm |