Photo of Fernando Botero, Contempoarary Latin Artist born in Colubmia. Botero creates small, large, and monumental sized bronze sculptures. Botero's also creates large canvas paintings and drawings using various materials such as watercolor, graphite, charcoal, and colored pen on paper.


Artists

Fernando Botero



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b. 1932

Fernando Botero was born in Colombia in 1932 in a town called Medellín, located in the heart of the Andes Mountains. From Colombia, Botero would travel to Spain and France before settling down in Florence where he would repeatedly revisit the Italian Quattrocentro masters, discovering techniques from a bygone era.
Available Works
Fernando Botero's sculpture titled Donna Seduta. A bronze sculture of a woman with a elevated left arm in bronze on a two step base. Fernando Botero's sculpture titled Seated Woman. A bronze sculture of a woman with a elevated left arm in bronze on a base. Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture of a woman ballerina (2003) dancing with raised arms, a one piece, ballerina shoes and titled Ballerina. Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture Ballerina Vestita, 2006. The artists depiction of the ballerina with her arms stretched out gracefully and her left leg extended high above her head while her long pony tail flows in the opposite direction. Fernando Botero's bronze sculture of a horse with a saddle and reigns titled Cavallo Con Sella. (2006) Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture of a bird titled Uccello.
Botero studied art history and was able to use contemporary elements and themes from his everyday existence to invent a truly innovative dimension. In Botero’s characters, whether they are bronze sculptures, painted on canvas, or drawn onto paper, he has created a distinctive world all his own. His imagined world is peopled with various characters from Medellín like bullfighters, prostitutes and street musicians, all in a sensual ambiance filled with joy and color. The overwhelming “roundness” of Botero’s work has become a legend in art history. He is a painter and sculptor who scoffs at new trends affecting the art world.
More Available Works
Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture titled The Dream(1996). The woman is laying down with her hands behind her head, face tilted to the side, and her left leg bent at an angle. A bird is perched on the womans stomach with it's head pointed slightly downwards. Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture titled Reclining Woman With Cloth (2002). The woman is laying down with her right arm behind her head and appears to be gazing upward. She has a pillow below her head and is resting on bedding with her left hand grasping the sheets while her body is on it's side. Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture the Reclining Woman (2000). The figure lays on her right side on a sheet with folds and creases and her head is elevated by resting on her right arm. Her left arm is bent at a 45 degree angle and resting on her mid-section. Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture titled Rapto D'Europa (Rape of Europe, 2006). A large sculpture with a standing bull and a woman laying on it's back. The woman is looking upwards with her head elevated by her right arm and her left arm bent downwards. Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture titled Femme Nue Allongee (2000). The woman is laying on a bed with folded and creased bedding. She is laying on her stomach, her arms are crossed, and head is level with her shoulders. Fernando Botero's bronze sculpture titled Donna In Piedi (Standing Woman, 2007). A monumental sculpture with the figures head turned to the right. The sculptures right arm is bent downwards with the hand at the chest level. The figures left arm is elevated and bent at the elbow to allow the left hand behind her head.
Botero first achieved international fame on the Champs-Elysées in Paris where he had a major, outdoor retrospective of some of his larger works. It proved to be a huge success and garnered him international press and patronage. His paintings, which boast a limited palette of ochre, cobalt and Prussian blue, are rare commodities sought after by avid art collectors. Botero has gained even more international prestige and fame with his sculptural work. His sculptures feature his signature corpulent men and women.
Works On Paper
Fernando Botero's watercolor on paper titled Dancer (2006). A depiction of a rosy red cheeked woman dancing with a orange flower in her blond hair. She is wearing a orange top tutu, bracelet, and ballet shoes. She is poised on the toes of her left foot with her right leg extended upwards. Her hands are poised in dancing position with the right arm extended fully and slightly downward. Her left arm is bent with her hand slightly above her head.Fernando Botero's watercolor, graphite, and charcoal on paper titled Femme (1989). The woman is centered in the drawing holding a cigarette in her left hand and a glass in her right hand. She has her long hair pulled back with a ribbon and a earring in her right ear. She is wearing a frilly striped top with a flower patterened skirt.Fernando Botero's graphite on paper titled Man Playing Trumpet (2006). The man is playing a downward angled trumpet in a pin stripe suit, a belt, and a hat with a black band. He has rosy red cheeks and brown hair with a hint of facial stuble.Fernando Botero's graphite on paper titled Old Lady (1969). A rendition of a eldery lady with her hair in a bun, glasses, and bracelets. She is wearing a dress and a a decorative shawl. Her face has subtle wrinkles and her arms are crossed.Fernando Botero's watercolor on paper titled Pas De Dux (2006). A man and a woman are dancing with the mans hands grasping the womans mid section for support. The man is wearing grey boots with black pants and a black top. He has rosy cheeks and black hair. The ballerinas left leg is fully extended upwards while her right leg is balanced on the toe. She is wearing a white tutu with a gold skirt and ballet shoes. She has gold hair with a red ribbon and a earring in her left ear. Her hands are poised in mid dance movement with her left arm extended outwards at a slightly downward angle and her right arm is bent with the hand just above her head.Fernando Botero's mixed media on paper titled The Trumpeter (2006). The man is playing a upward angled trumpet in a pin stripe suit, belt, tie, and a hat with a band. His cheeks are puffy as if ready to exhale and he has short hair.
The rotund figures demonstrate Botero’s ability to portray individuals or stereotypes of Medellín characters he may have known in his life, but also universalize the figures in the sculptures so that anyone can identify them and see their gracefulness. They portray a rare irony, because the rounded stomachs and undefined arms and legs are hardly the first things associated with grace, yet the paintings or sculptures, as seen by the viewer, are striking and elegant. There is something inviting and enchanting about these figures. The women are feminine and the viewer is able to identify with the beauty of the female body, even in the unconventional and stout Botero portrayal.
Paintings
Fernando Botero's oil on canvas titled Venus (2005). The woman is standing nude in a room wearing a flower in her hair, a necklace, black high heels, and a purple cloth is wrapped around her legs. On the viewers right there is a two drawer dresser, a bitten piece of fruit, a window with trees and a visible blue sky. On the paintings left from the viewers perspective is a mirror reflecting the womans hair and backside. On the wooden plank floor there is a red ribbon and a small winged cupid with his bow and arrow. Fernando Botero's oil on canvas titled Odalisca (1998). A woman with a decorative headband, necklace, bracelets, rings, an anklet, black hair and white nail polished digits. Her right arm is behind her head and her left arm is supporting the body as she crosses her right leg over the left and leans slightly on her side. She is laying on two different rugs that are on top of a green tiled floor. The viewers far left wall section is a decorative wooden structure, while the right is a off-white wall. Fernando Botero's oil on canvas titled Odalisca (1998). A woman with a decorative headband, necklace, bracelets, rings, an anklet, black hair and white nail polished digits. Her right arm is behind her head and her left arm is supporting the body as she crosses her right leg over the left and leans slightly on her side. She is laying on two different rugs that are on top of a green tiled floor. The viewers far left wall section is a decorative wooden structure, while the right is a off-white wall.