The “bloated” world of Colombian artist Fernando Botero

Colombia has given the world many famous personalities, outstanding in both good and bad ways. But if we talk about people of art, then two citizens of this country deserve the greatest recognition: the writer Gabriel García Márquez and the artist Fernando Botero Angulo. The works of these people are difficult to confuse with any others, and this is especially true in the case of Botelo.

Fernando Botelo's paintings are impossible to forget. If you've seen them once, you'll probably remember them. This classic of Latin American painting has its own unique style, causing both a smile and admiration.

Fernando Botero Angulo was born in 1932 in the city of Medellin, Colombia. His family was poor and barely made ends meet. When the boy was 4 years old, his father died and his mother, who worked as a seamstress, was forced to feed three children alone. Relatives helped the family with money, but they were also not rich, and Fernando’s childhood was spent in depressing poverty.

During his school years, the boy began to take a keen interest in painting. But his family adhered to strict Catholic traditions and Fernando was not allowed to visit museums and exhibitions. Therefore, he became acquainted with fine art in churches, which he visited with his mother and brothers every Sunday.

Botero studied at a Jesuit school, but at the insistence of his uncle he left it and went to a bullfighting school. But the career of a matador was clearly not for him. At one of the first training sessions, Fernando received a serious injury, from which it took a long time to recover. He had to study the science of bullfighting for another two years, but Botero was no longer interested in this activity. He began painting watercolors, independently mastering the basics of painting.

At the age of 14, he dropped out of bullfighting school and immersed himself in art. And already at the age of 16, Botero took part in the exhibition. The works of the young artist aroused interest among the public and this motivated Fernando. Soon he got a job at the newspaper El Colombiano as an illustrator and began to earn money. The young man decided to finish his studies in high school, but he did not succeed. The Jesuit fathers learned about his passion for painting and Botero was expelled.

Fernando still received a certificate, but at a secular educational institution - the Lyceum of the University of Antioquia. Education there was paid and the young man had to pay all the money he earned for his studies. All this time he developed as an artist and painted many paintings. His idol was Picasso, and his influences can be seen in many of Botero's early works.

In 1951, Fernando Botero organized his first solo exhibition. He became a famous artist in Colombia, and his paintings attracted interest abroad. In 1952, the artist went with a group of friends to Spain to get acquainted with the art of this country.

The museums of Madrid and Barcelona impressed Botero so much that he decided to stay in Europe. He first attended the San Fernando Art School in Madrid, and then moved to Italy. The young painter settled in Florence and immersed himself in the study of Renaissance art.

By 1955, the master had developed a special, unique style in which he worked all his life. It was the “inflated” persons and objects on the canvases that brought him worldwide fame. Botero was married four times, lived in Europe and the United States, and experienced triumph and a series of crushing failures. But he never stopped creating.

At the moment, the legacy of the Colombian artist consists of more than 3,000 paintings! Despite his advanced age, Botero continued to work in the workshop until his death. The artist passed away on September 15, 2023.

Botero was sometimes criticized for his passion for painting "round" people. But the author himself called it differently - “three-dimensional figures.” By the way, although all the ladies in Botero’s canvases strive for the shape of a ball, he himself loved graceful women - all his wives were thin.

Fernando Botero, whose life began in the slums of Medellin, knew no need in maturity. His paintings are bought by collectors for huge sums of money. One of the artist’s paintings, which depicts men playing music, was sold at auction for $2 million (192 million rubles).