Fernando Botero is a Columbian artist of the very best. He was recognized for his art when he won first prize at the Salon de Artistas Columbianos in 1958. Botero worked most of the time in Paris and has achieved recognition all over the world thanks to his paintings, drawings and sculptures. Botero has had exhibitions all over the world and his art is collected by some of the major museums along with private collectors.

One of the first exhibitions was a group show with other artists from the same region. His first one man show was in Bogota, Botero lived in Barcelona for a brief time before moving on to Madrid. He had the luxury of studying at the Academia de San Fernando. In 1952 he held a solo exhibition at the Leo Matiz gallery and later that same year he took the title of the ninth edition of the Salon de Artistas Columbianos for his art.

While in Paris Botero spent a great deal of time in Louvre where he studied other forms of art. Today he has had the luxury of more than fifty exhibits of art in some of the major countries around the world. His work brings in millions of dollars for each piece.

Boteros art is mainly in the style of still life and landscapes. However he has also concentrated on situational portraits. He is well known for exaggerating such as painting fat figures. Being an abstract artist he has the luxury of the very best taste when it comes to shapes, colors and proportions. While he spends much of his time in Paris, he still regards himself as a Columbian artist. In 2004 Botero went on to gain attention thanks to his Abu Ghraib series of art which was first shown in Europe. These works were based on the reports that prisoners were being abused during the war. In total he produced more than eighty five pieces of art and over 100 drawings on this subject. These pieces went on show in the USA but they were never sold, instead they were donated to charity.

In 2006 he returned to his old style which focused on family life and maternity. In the series of art entitled Une Famille, he painted Columbian families. In 2008 Botero went on to exhibit his Circus collection which featured art in oil and watercolor paint. Botero admitted that while he had interest in painting other subjects, he always returned to the simplest things in life, family.

Editorial | Image Courtesy Of Robinsons Art Gallery