Fernando Botero

Who is Fernando Botero?

Fernando Botero Angulo was a Colombian figurative artist and sculptor born in Medellín. He became internationally renowned for his distinctive style, sometimes called 'Boterismo,' in which people, animals, and objects are depicted in exaggerated, voluminous, rounded forms. This inflated proportion became his signature and made his work instantly recognizable worldwide. Botero drew on Latin American life, Colombian society, still lifes, and reinterpretations of classical European masterpieces, often with subtle humor or social and political commentary. In later years he produced a notable series of works depicting violence in Colombia and the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison. His monumental bronze sculptures are displayed in public plazas and museums across the world, including in Medellín's Plaza Botero. He donated significant collections of his own art and works by other masters to Colombian museums, including the Museo Botero in Bogotá. He remained prolific into old age and is among the most celebrated Latin American visual artists.

Sources: Museo Botero, Banco de la República, Bogotá (banrepcultural.org) · Ana María Escallón, 'Botero: New Works on Canvas' (1997) · Encyclopædia Britannica, 'Fernando Botero'