Fernando Botero, the most successful of Colombian painters celebrates 90 years of voluminous brushstrokes

Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, who is one of the most important artists of the 20th century, is celebrating 90 years of life this Tuesday. The artist from Antioquia is the second of three children in the marriage of David Botero Mejía and Flora Angulo Jaramillo, who was born on April 19, 1932.

The works of the Colombian painter have reached various parts of the world, thus leaving national art high, because in the middle of the last century, after finishing his studies, Botero moved his art to several countries in Europe and also to different parts of the United States, such as New York.

The artist from Medellín has been recognized for his voluminous paintings and sculptures. Faced with this, Juan Carlos Botero, son of Fernando Botero, who is also a writer, has clarified on several occasions that his father does not paint “fat” as many people think, but has dedicated himself to exalting the volume of subjects and objects of interest to the artist, thus managing to capture his own distortion of reality.

Some of Botero's most outstanding paintings are: “Ecce Homo”, “Head of Christ”, “Mona Lisa at 12 years old”, “La colombiana”, “Country Concert”, “Musicians Collection”, “Woman in front of the mirror”, “La carta”, “Celestina”, “La noche” and “Walk the hill”. Among the most outstanding sculptures are “The Hand”, “Torso”, “The Bird”, “The Lady”, “The Ballerina Asquadra”, “The Roman Soldier”, “Cat Collection”, “The Couple”, “The Maternity”, “The Horse” and “The Guitar”.

In addition, throughout his career he has donated several of his works to museums and other institutions, both in Colombia and in other countries. In fact, his first donation was to the Museum of Antioquia, to which he left seven oils, a pastel and two watercolors; and he has continued to do so with other entities. One of Botero's most important collections was a donation he gave to the Banco de la República de Colombia, which has 123 works by him and 87 by international artists, to form the Botero Museum in the capital.

About this donation, in 2000, Botero gave a speech in which he thanked being able to leave the works in mention in a space such as this museum. “It is an infinite pleasure for me to know that these works belong to Colombia today; to know that the students who enter this house will come into contact with the most important artistic trends of our time, contemplating here permanently, original works of great masters; to know that lovers of painting and sculpture can come and visit this haven of peace and walk quietly through these rooms, allowing themselves to be flooded by modern aesthetics. Let this little oasis of culture remain in the midst of the frenzy of citizen life. I must confess that it was not easy to part with these works, many of which I lived with for years. However, knowing that these paintings are now here, in my country, available to everyone, gives me a much greater pleasure than that nostalgia and more than justifies it.”

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