At the age of 91 – Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero dies – Culture

Botero was considered one of South America’s most important contemporary artists. His voluptuous human and animal figures were his trademark.

The Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero is dead. He died at the age of 91, the Ministry of Culture in Bogotá announced on Friday.

“His life is the testimony of a man who decided at a young age to pursue his calling and create a style that is already part of art history,” wrote Culture Minister Juan David Correa on the “X” network (formerly Twitter).

Lush images of people and animals

Botero was considered one of Latin America’s most important contemporary artists. He was particularly famous for his lush pictures of people and animals as well as his disproportionate sculptures. For him, the voluptuous forms were above all an expression of sensuality.

«I give volume to everything: an animal, a man, a horse, a landscape, whatever it is. For me, generosity and opulence are closely linked to sensuality.» said Botero about his art.

Botero’s over 3,000 paintings and 300 sculptures are in museums and public spaces in 60 cities and are reaching record prices. His exhibitions achieved record numbers: his exhibition in Mexico City was seen by 300,000 visitors.

“Abu Ghraib series” is causing a stir

But he also made a name for himself with his political works: in his inimitable style, he recreated the torture practices of US soldiers in Iraq in disproportionate forms with the “Abu Ghraib series,” and he also dealt with the conflict in his home country of Colombia .

After concluding the peace agreement with the left-wing FARC guerrillas, he presented then-President Juan Manuel Santos with a typical Botero sculpture: a rather thick peace dove.

Rise from humble circumstances

Botero was born into humble circumstances in Medellín in 1932. He began painting as a child, soon found work as an illustrator for the newspaper “El Colombiano” and won an art prize in the capital Bogotá. He used the money to travel to Europe, where he studied the artists of the Renaissance, especially in Italy.

Legend:

The success also took him to Switzerland: Fernando Botero in Zurich in 2008.

IMAGO / Tinkeres

In 1969, two German art historians and curators discovered him in New York, Dietrich Mahlow and Klaus Gallwitz, who invited the still relatively unknown artist to Germany and organized exhibitions of his works there.

Most recently he lived primarily in Monte Carlo and Pietrasanta in northern Italy.