Fernanado Botero

Day 10 - 10 Nov 2012

Colombia - a name that always conjure up images of drug lords and violent crimes. Yet, there is another Colombia that many people are not aware of and that is contemporary arts.

Fernando Botero, born in Medellin in 1932, is undeniably the most famous contemporary artisit in Colombia. Botero's works often contain objects and figures of enormous size and you can find his works in Museo Botero in Bogota, and Museo de Antioquia in Medellin. Closer to home, some of you may recall seeing his sculptures around UOB Plaza in Raffles Place.

 

Louis XVI´s visit to Colombia

Marie Antionette´s visit to Colombia

Pablo Excobar shot dead

Perod

Somebody once asked why Botero likes to paint fat people. In response to that, Botero replied that he himself is not interested in fat people. Rather, he simply likes to create voluminous characters to give them sensuality.

While Museo Botero houses some of Botero's fine and modern impressionist arts including Picasso, Dali and Monet, Museo de Antiquoa contains more of Botero's original works which he had donated to the museum. His works provides a refreshing change (or even comical to me at times) from the classic works found in other museums such as The Lourve. Below is one of his works which most people would immediately recognise, but maybe not quite... :)