Google celebrates 90 years of Fernando Botero with interactive paintings

This day the artist Fernando Botero turns 90 and Google is celebrating it through Google Arts & Culture to highlight with interactive proposals of his work and people know more about him.

The technology platform pointed out that they are highlighting more than 100 digitized images and online collections for people to experience, interact and learn the stories behind the most representative paintings of the Colombian painter.

On Google's digital platform, anyone can learn more about the details of the painter's techniques, the motivations behind his most famous works and the stories that accompanied his iconic creations.

One of the artist's most famous paintings is his oil recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's painting at the beginning of the 16th century: the intriguing portrait depicting the noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo. It was in 1978 when he painted his own version of it, where its forms were exaggerated, as can be seen in Google Arts & Culture.

From the comfort of a mobile device, people can live the experience of admiring the works of the Latin American artist, they just need to enter this link: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/BQVhCUv_Tk5vSA, or by downloading the Google Arts & amp; Culture from your iOS or Android app store.

But not only are the works digitized, but they can be seen in augmented reality and with brief explanations in text, to learn more about the paintings and their author.

In addition, images can be displayed anywhere in your home through Art Projector and even capture the moment with the camera. On the other hand, two of the most important works: 20 de Julio” and “Guitar Lesson”, which are in the National Museum of Colombia, are available for viewing at Art Zoom.

This last tool allows visitors to feel that they are observing the work in detail, since the zoom allows us to see in high definition every detail, every brushstroke and stroke made by the artist to appreciate the art.

“Using Art Zoom, the Colombian singer, J Balvin, explained in a video the play '20 de Julio' recalling his childhood and recounting the characteristics of Boterism.”

It should be remembered that Fernando Botero is the creator of the artistic trend “Boterismo” characterized by voluminous characters and an explosive color palette. His characteristic style depicts people and figures in large and exaggerated volumes, which has been used to represent political criticism or humor according to the piece.

His artistic training was self-taught, although he attended the San Fernando Academy in Madrid and San Marcos Academy in Florence. His first known works are the illustrations he published in the literary supplement of the newspaper El Colombiano, in his hometown.

At the age of 19 he traveled to Bogotá, where he presented his first solo exhibition of watercolors, gouaches, inks and oils at the Leo Matiz Gallery, and with the proceeds he lived for some time in Tolú. His stay there would be the oil painting Frente al Mar, with which he won the second prize for painting at the IX Annual Salon of Colombian Artists. In 1977 he exhibited his bronzes for the first time at the Grand Palais in Paris. After four decades of uninterrupted work, his recognition in the sculptural field also became universal.

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