2023-09-15 19:12:37
With his art he portrayed voluminous figures creating a personal and unique style that was immediately recognisable. He is considered by many to be “the greatest Colombian artist of all time” and was a great lover of Italy. Fernando Botero, born in Medellín on 19 April 1932, who died today at the age of 91, linked his fame to a ‘plastic’ style, marked by large shapes, which he developed since the 1950s when, misunderstood by the Colombian cultural environment , he moved to Mexico, where he discovered for the first time the possibility of broadening the forms of his creations. Botero, who died in his home in Monte Carlo, had been alone for a few months since his wife, the artist of Greek origin Sophia Vari with whom he had shared a passion for Tuscany, had passed away last May.
This is a characteristic that becomes his ‘trademark’ and characterizes his many works left around the world. His career began when, still very young, he exhibited for the first time in 1948 in Medellín. In 1952 he won second prize at the 9th Salon of Colombian Artists, organized in the National Library of Bogota, with ‘On the Coast’. A success that allows him to obtain a cash prize which he invests in his artistic education.
In fact, he travels in Europe: in Spain he visits the Prado Museum in Madrid, where he also becomes acquainted with the works of Francisco Goya and Titian, among others. In Paris he is confronted with French avant-garde art and decides to take an interest in the ancient painters. He arrives in Italy: a passion for our country that will return in his maturity when he decides to choose Pietrasanta, in Tuscany, as his homeland of choice, living there for a long time.
Always traveling between continents, he returned to Latin America in 1958 where he obtained the professorship of painting at the Art Academy of Bogotá. His success consolidated: he obtained first prize at the XI Salon with the work ‘La camera degli sposi’, while in the same year he exhibited in Washington at the Gres Gallery. Since 1959 it has been the time of studying the art of Diego Velázquez.
In 1966, after having been in the United States, he continued his studies and perfected his art, organizing his first exhibition in Europe, in Germany to be precise, followed by a new exhibition held at the Milwaukee Art Center. He begins to exhibit both in the Old Continent and in the United States. In 1969 in Paris, where he settled in 1973 and continued to dedicate himself to sculpture while in 1983 he returned to Italy and opened a studio in Pietrasanta, Tuscany, where he lived for a few months of the year.
He leaves a legacy of numerous works to the town of Versilia, including two frescoes on the theme of Paradise and Hell in the church of Misericordia. His art attracts not only enthusiasts but also thieves: on 21 October 2007 seven bronze statues were stolen from his studio (‘Adam’, ‘The Dog’, ‘Pintail Cat’, ‘Woman with Hand in Her Hair’, ‘ Dressed Ballerina’, ‘Dancer in Motion’ and ‘Sparrow’) for a value of approximately 4 million euros. In May 2008 three of the statues were found and those responsible for the theft were arrested.
#Region #lived #long #time