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Fernando Botero

Colombian painter and sculptor (1932-2023) · France · Artists · Died at 91

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He painted presidents and Mona Lisas as if inflated by a gentle, unsparing pump - volume as both caricature and tenderness. Botero's blown-up figures colonized Park Avenue and the Champs-Élysées, making "Boterismo" a style you'd recognize from a city block away.

ArtistsArtistPaintingSculpture20th Century

A life in dates

2023Died15 September 20232017“A great artist is born from a profound knowledge of the tradition and problems of painting.”In their wordsOn the influence of culture on an artist in “Interview With Fernando Botero” in HuffPost (2017 Dec 6)

“The only duty an artist has is in the quality of the art. There is no moral obligation to denounce.”In their wordsOn whether an artist should paint about injustices in “Interview With Fernando Botero” in HuffPost (2017 Dec 6)

2013“Some people love my work, some people hate it…You can’t be liked by everybody. There has been opposition in some places.”In their wordsOn the reactions to his work in “Botero: ‘You Can’t Be Liked By Everybody’” in ARTnews (2013 Jan 30)

2007Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the CatholicAward1999Honorary Doctor of the University of MiamiAward1977Cruz de BoyacaAward1932Born19 April 1932

Also in Deutsch

Photos 11

Woman with fruit, Bamberg, GermanyWoman with fruit, Bamberg, GermanyBotero Plaza in Botero's hometown of Medellín is a popular tourist site.Botero Plaza in Botero's hometown of Medellín is a popular tourist site.

In their own words 3

,
Fernando Botero
,
3 statements, newest first

  1. A great artist is born from a profound knowledge of the tradition and problems of painting.

    2017, On the influence of culture on an artist in “Interview With Fernando Botero” in HuffPost (2017 Dec 6), Own words

  2. The only duty an artist has is in the quality of the art. There is no moral obligation to denounce.

    2017, On whether an artist should paint about injustices in “Interview With Fernando Botero” in HuffPost (2017 Dec 6), Own words

  3. Some people love my work, some people hate it…You can’t be liked by everybody. There has been opposition in some places.

    2013, On the reactions to his work in “Botero: ‘You Can’t Be Liked By Everybody’” in ARTnews (2013 Jan 30), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic2007
Honorary Doctor of the University of Miami1999
Cruz de Boyaca1977

Family

Fernando Botero

Partners

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About this person

Fernando Botero Angulo was born in Colombia on 19 April 1932 and spent decades turning exaggeration into a language. He broke through nationally in 1958 when he took first prize at the Salón de Artistas Colombianos, calling himself "the most Colombian of Colombian artists." After relocating to Paris in 1973, he began working in sculpture, and by the 1990s his oversized bronzes were touring the world's major cities. Museums, corporations, and collectors paid millions for the work; in 2012 the International Sculpture Center gave him its Lifetime Achievement award. He died on 15 September 2023, having made volume itself a form of sight.

Country
France
Category
Artists
Type
Artist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1932 to 2023 · aged 91

Artists from France 6

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