Creativity of Fernando Botero

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Fernando Botero is one of the most famous artists and sculptors of Colombian origin. His work is of considerable importance for modern culture and art. This extraordinary person and his works will be discussed in the article.

Millions of people today admire his work, but the path to fame and success was by no means easy. But the painter went to his happiness, overcoming difficulties step by step. Today he has reached what he has been going for so long, but he does not stop there, but continues to discover more and more new facets in himself.

Fernando Botero: short biography

The future artist and sculptor, known throughout the world, was born on 1932-19-04 in the Colombian city of Medellin, which is famous throughout the world for drug trafficking.

Already from an early age, he began to show interest in art, but in a family with a conservative lifestyle, everyone was skeptical about his hobby. When a fifteen-year-old youth announced that he intended to become an artist, his mother and the rest of the household were opposed to this. They believed that art could be something like a hobby, but not a way to make a living.

However, Fernando Botero was determined and began to develop, improving his skills in his favorite business. Soonhe managed to get a position as an illustrator in the local print publication El Colombiano, where he worked in this position until 1951.

Travel to Europe

Then Fernando decides to go to Europe to gain new knowledge and experience. In Madrid, he underwent a short-term study at an art school.

Then I went to Florence, where I attended training sessions with Bernard Bernson, a famous professor and American scientist. In Italy, he met with the European Renaissance, which he previously knew only by hearsay.

The journey through Europe dragged on for about a year, and in 1952 Botero returned to his homeland. During this time, he received a lot of new impressions and emotions, got acquainted with European art and history, gained new knowledge in the field of art, painting techniques, etc.

Of course, in just a year he did not manage to turn from an inexperienced self-taught artist into a professional, but the knowledge gained on this journey helped him form his style in the future.

Artist Fernando Botero

After returning to his homeland, the novice sculptor and artist arranges his first solo exhibition, which worked at the L. Matisse gallery.

In 1952, he entered a competition organized by the National Art. Columbia salon. It featured his painting "By the Sea", which won 2nd prize.

But at the beginning of his career, Fernando Botero, whose works did not yet have a personal,unique style, did not stand out too much from the general mass of young artists. After visiting his debut exhibition, many visitors did not even realize that these were paintings by one artist, considering them to be the work of different people.

At that time, completely different painters influenced his work: P. Gauguin, D. Rivera, the Impressionists and others. In addition, he did not have the opportunity to get acquainted with their work in reality, so he limited himself to illustrative reproductions.

Shaping an individual style

Until the mid-50s. Fernando Botero, whose paintings had only recently begun to attract interest, did not have the distinct personal style for which he is known today. Then he portrayed pretty standard people and animals, which were not much different from those that were in the paintings of other artists.

The "fatties" familiar to the modern art lover have become his calling card by sheer chance. When the artist painted his "Still Life with Mandolin", the musical instrument turned out to be too bloated. This amused both the artist himself and the audience. Thus was born Botero's signature style, which he liked.

From now on, the Colombian painted only ridiculously inflated images of people, animals and objects.

World fame

After marrying Gloria Sia, the artist moved to live in Mexico, but their marriage did not last long. After the divorce, he moves to New York. Poor possessionEnglish language and lack of money prompted him to write copies of the works of famous artists.

In parallel, the artist painted his own paintings. Thanks to this, in 1970 he exhibited his paintings at the Marlborough Gallery. The exhibition becomes a success, and the return to Europe is victorious.

Since then, Botero has become a well-known and outstanding contemporary Colombian artist.

Modern stage of creativity

The works of Fernando Botero are highly valued today, which allows him to travel a lot and earn a living with his favorite business. The artist has a house in Paris, where he paints mostly large canvases. On the Mediterranean coast of France, the creator not only loves to relax with his family, but also pursues his other hobby, in addition to painting. It is here that the sculptor Fernando Botero is revealed to the world. The creations of the master, like the paintings, are distinguished by grotesque volume.

He also often visits New York, where he also works.

Fernando Botero in 1992 received an invitation from Jacques Chirac himself (then he was the mayor of Paris) to carry out a personal exhibition on the Champs Elysees, where no foreign artist had previously been invited.

Today Botero travels all over the world showing his works. He is one of the most outstanding painters and sculptors of our time.

Paintings

From contemporary artists, Fernando is certainly one of the highest paid. His paintings at art auctions and exhibitions are sold forfabulous sums. For example, the painting "Breakfast on the Grass" in 1969 was sold on the art market for 1 million US dollars.

He has been to Russia, moreover, the Hermitage has a sculptural group, which the master personally presented to the museum. It's called "Still Life with Watermelon".

The artist has always been worried about everything that is happening in the world. He could not be indifferent and at the beginning of the 2000s of the 21st century he created a series of paintings "Abu Ghraib", where he clearly showed how cruelly Americans treat Arab captives and prisoners in an Iraqi prison. For the first time, these creations saw the light in Colombia in the spring of 2005.

Fernando Botero, whose sculptures and paintings are in great demand today, said that he had not yet finished this series of works, which now numbered about 50 creations. According to him, he still has something to say on this topic, because he did not reveal stories related to Afghanistan, Cuba (Guantanamo), etc.

Imitation, or rather, remaking famous paintings in your own way is a kind of "trick" of Fernando Botero. "Mona Lisa" performed by a Colombian is a vivid example of the stylization of the world famous work.

Famous paintings

Among the most popular and significant of his works is the canvas "Adam and Eve", where the figures of biblical heroes are depicted from the back. They are both naked and made in the artist's traditional "bloated" manner. Adam reaches for the forbidden fruit, and the tempting serpent is visible on the branches of the tree.

In 1990 hepainted the picture "At the Window", which depicts a naked plump woman standing at an open window. The artist has a special passion for depicting nude female nature. Moreover, his craving for bloated forms reaches its climax when he portrays the female body.

The painting "Letter" (1976) depicts a fat woman lying in bed without clothes. It is obvious that the girl had just read the letter, which plunged her into deep thought. She looks distantly away, holding a letter in her hand, and next to her lie the fruits of citrus trees.

One of his most famous works is the 1969 painting "Breakfast on the Grass", which depicts a man and a woman sitting on a picnic under the canopy of trees. At the same time, the man lies without clothes, smoking a cigarette, and the girl is dressed and sits next to him. Food, fruits and a basket are laid out on the tablecloth.

Sculptures

As in painting, in sculpture Fernando Botero also adheres to the figurative style. He created a large number of sculptures in different cities of the world. Today this is a new trend, every major city in the world considers it fashionable to place the works of this master on their streets. The artist receives so many offers from the authorities of various cities, major collectors and cultural organizations that he cannot cope with the flow of orders, so he takes only the most interesting, profitable ones.

Among the most famous sculptural works of Fernando Botero "The Abduction of Europe" takes the first place. This composition is located in the capitalSpain and was created based on the famous ancient Greek myth about Zeus and Europe, which he abducted by turning into a bull.

Of course, this work is done in a typical style for the author. A naked girl (Europe) with a magnificent figure sits on the back of a large muscular bull. She proudly straightens her hair, demonstrating confidence in herself and her beauty. This sculpture is today considered a landmark of Madrid, to which millions of tourists flock every year.

Also very famous is another work of Fernando Botero - the sculpture "Gentleman in a bowler hat". Also world-famous is his sculpture of a naked girl lying on her stomach, which is located on a square in the Danish capital - the city of Copenhagen.

Contribution to culture

The works of Fernando Botero today are in such great demand that even for the largest cities and museums in the world to become the owners of at least one of his works is a great honor and good luck. There is a real hunt for works, he not only does not need to look for customers or buyers for his works, but on the contrary, the artist has no end to those who want to touch art.

Botero is very hardworking and active, creating dozens of creations every year. The more he creates, the more popular his work becomes. Such a phenomenal success can be envied by many eminent artists and sculptors. At the same time, the artist remains true to himself, not succumbing to the opinion of the masses and pressure from critics. He justcreates what he likes, putting his soul into his works.

Today, his sculptures are in almost all major cities and capitals of European countries, as well as in America and in the artist's homeland, Colombia. Due to age, he has now become less productive, but still continues to work constantly.

Conclusion

Fernando Botero is an example of how a person who was born far from the centers of world art, without proper education in this area, without the support of loved ones, managed to achieve dizzying success thanks to his talent, perseverance and irresistible craving to create.

As soon as the artist found his own style, different from the general mass, to show individuality, people began to be interested in his work. The people reached out to his paintings and sculptures, art lovers began to speak very well of him, arguing that Botero is one of the best creators of our time.

The world is interested in his works. Today, the fame of Botero's work is booming, especially in Europe, North and South America. In Colombia, the creator is rightfully considered a national hero.