Fernando Botero, a Colombian painter of violence and peace, dies at age 91
The Family, 1965, by Fernando Botero (Wikimedia Commons)
Fernando Botero, a prominent Latin American artist and sculptor celebrated for his politically charged art, has died at age 91. Botero passed on September 15, 2023, of pneumonia complications.
The world mourns the loss of an artist who channeled a colorful and cheerful style in depicting traumatic world events. Botero was known for his colorful art featuring inflated depictions of childhood memories, politics, animals, and saints. This style even became known as “Boterismo,” a unique and easily recognizable, lighthearted, cartoonish approach to real-life scenes.
His legacy is marked by his contributions of his paintings of Latin life in the early 20th century and of his bronzed sculptures, both of which can be found on proud display in European and Latin American cities. His works showed the world the intricate culture of Latin American life, whether nostalgic or painful.
Some of these works include a depiction of a couple’s picnic (Picnic), a couple dancing to a band of instruments (Dance in Colombia), or a dancer at the barre (Dancers at the Bar). Beyond the aesthetic and culturally marked value of his artwork, Botero portrayed conflict and political events that struck him.
Some of Botero’s most famous works depicted painful realities, including the death of Pablo Escobar, the emergence of rebel groups in Colombia, and the critique of state authority in his portrayal of the presidential family.
One of his most famous politically-charged works is a series of paintings depicting the torture by American soldiers of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison. “I was moved by the hypocrisy of the situation,” said Botero of the series to Semana Magazine. “A country that presents itself to the world as a model of compassion and as a defender of human rights, ended up torturing people in the same prison where Sadam Hussein tortured people.”
One of his own sculptures placed in Medellín, titled “The Bird,” was dynamited in a violent 1995 attack, killing 22 people and injuring over 200. While officials were unable to determine an intent, they attributed they aligned the act with the then-recent terrorism by leftist guerrilla groups and cocaine traffickers.
Botero was not afraid to acknowledge the issues present in his native country and beyond despite the typically influential status of the groups he called out.
As Colombian President Gustavo Petro remarked upon his passing, Botero was “the painter of our traditions and our shortcomings, the painter of our virtues. The painter of our violence and our peace.”
Botero was extremely dedicated to his work, often working in silence the entire day so as to prevent any distractions. His unwavering commitment to his art channels his loyalty to each message he channeled.
His dedication to his art’s voice in situations that shook the world is admirable, and the contrast of his art style with the seriousness of these events makes them more approachable to the public.
Botero’s paintings and sculptures can be found at the Champs-Elysées in Paris and Park Avenue in New York. The mayor of his hometown of Medellín, Colombia, has declared a week of mourning in his honor, yet his politically charged and internationally impactful art lives on.
Bogotá and Medellín have planned an eight day tribute in Botero’s honor open to the public, consisting of a service and Eucharist, a concert, and a ceremony.