Fernando Botero

Colombian, 1932-2023

Fernando Botero was born in Medellín in 1932 and rose from modest origins to become one of Latin America’s most universally recognized artists. Early influences included the ornate colonial Baroque architecture of his hometown and the vivid popular culture of Medellín, alongside later exposure to European masters during studies and travels in Spain, Italy, and beyond. Botero’s work is defined by a singular style often called Boterismo, distinguished by exaggerated, voluminous forms—figures and objects drawn out to monumental scale, yet imbued with humor, irony, and sometimes social critique.

He first showed in Bogotá as a young artist and gained early acclaim in the 1950s. Over subsequent decades, he expanded into sculpture while retaining his signature painterly touch. Works such as Mona Lisa, Age Twelve, 1959 and The Presidential Family, 1967 appear in major museum collections around the world, affirming his impact on both public art and private collecting. In later years, his sculptures, many cast in bronze, joined his paintings as part of his global presence, situated in plazas, museums, and prominent exhibitions.

Botero’s legacy lies in the way his art managed to be instantly recognizable and engage a broad audience. Collectors and institutions alike prize his works not only for their aesthetic distinctiveness but for the way they reflect Latin American identity and the tension between joy, excess, and political awareness.