Fernando Botero is a renowned Colombian artist known for his unique style of depicting people and figures in a rounded, exaggerated form. His paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints have been exhibited worldwide and are included in major museum collections. Born in Colombia in 1932, Botero studied art in Madrid and Florence before traveling extensively and being influenced by muralist artists in Mexico. His most famous works depict people, circus scenes, and political events in his signature exaggerated style.

1. Fernando Botero
“Art is a permanent
accusation”
Laura Orozco
HUM 2461

3. Fernando Botero...
Botero is a Colombian artist known for depicting a women’s
beauty differently than many other’s would. The popular work of
Latin America's most celebrated living artist, Fernando Botero,
is instantly recognizable. His paintings, sculptures, drawings and
prints have been exhibited around the world. Two of Botero's
bronze nudes decorate the entrance hall of the Time-Warner Center
in New York City, and a multi-ton cat of his prowls outside an
apartment building further uptown. Several major museums have
purchased his works for their permanent collections, and his
paintings of circus life were displayed in Venice and in Zurich.

4. • On April 19th, 1932 Fernando Botero was born in Medellin, Capital of the department of Antioquia in Colombia.
His parents were David Botero (1895-1936) and Flora Angulo De Botero (1898-1972). His father, David, was an
energetic businessman who traveled around the neighboring provinces on horseback. ("Bio True Story")His
mother, Flora, was a creative women known for her skill at handcrafts. An uncle took a major role in his life.
Although isolated from art as presented in museums and other cultural institutes, Botero was influenced by the
Baroque style of the colonial churches and then the rich life of the city. Botero studied in the Ateneo Antioqueno
primary school and attended the Boliviarana high school. He also attended the Liceo San Jose and the Normal de
Marinilla high schools. He paid for most of his education by drawing for the sunday supplement of El Colombiano
newspaper. Botero, as did many artists of the time, decided to go to Europe to study the work of the Master’s. He
studied in Madrid, Spain, at the Academy of San Fernando, where he created work in the style of Velazquea and
Goya, as well as in Florence, Italy, where he learned the fresco techniques of the Italian masters. In 1956 he taught
at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Bogota, Colombia and traveled to Mexico City to study the work of
Rivera and Orozco. There, his experience with Muralism greatly influenced his future direction as an artist.

5. Mona Lisa (1953)

6. Una Familia

7. The First Lady (1989)

8. The Widow (1997)

9. Pablo Escobar’s Death

10. El Centro en Medellin,
Colombia

11. Masacre de Mejor
Esquina (1997)