Fernando Botero - Buy or sell works
19 April 1932, Medellín (Colombia) – 15 September 2023, Monaco
Fernando Botero was born in Medellín, Colombia. From 1948, he worked as an illustrator for El Columbiano before pursuing formal art studies abroad. In 1952, he studied painting at the Real Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, where he was also influenced by the works of the Prado Museum. He later moved to Paris and Florence, studying fresco painting at the Accademia di San Marco and art history at the Università delgi Studi under Roberto Longhi. After a brief return to Colombia in 1955, he relocated to Mexico City, where he connected with artists Rufino Tamayo and José Luis Cuevas.
Botero’s early works drew influence from European Art Informel, American Action Painting, and Pop Art. Though he admired Willem de Kooning, his own figures quickly evolved into rounded, voluminous forms that became his signature. Deeply influenced by Piero della Francesca’s sense of colour and structure, Botero developed a highly personal style—bold, theatrical, and rich in sensuality. From the late 1960s, his paintings became more controlled and rhythmic, with smooth surfaces. In the 1970s, he began sculpting monumental figures in bronze and polyester, mirroring his painted characters. Though often seen as satirical, Botero rejected the label of caricaturist, describing his deformation of form as the result of his engagement with painting.
Throughout his life, Botero lived and worked in cultural hubs such as New York and Paris, and travelled widely across Europe. He taught at the Universidad Nacional in Bogotá and received major awards, including the Guggenheim International Award and first prize at the Barcelona Biennale. Botero is widely considered to be the most important contemporary artist from South America. He has created a legacy through a body of work that reflects both Latin American identity and universal human experience.