BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 9. The works of the famous Colombian artist-sculptor Fernando Botero, who created the "Boterismo" style by presenting people and animals, as well as various figures, on a gigantic scale, will be exhibited in Baku for the first time on October 31 as part of the "Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Sense the Future NOW" project organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Trend reports.
The solo exhibition "The Triumph of Form" to be held at the Heydar Aliyev Center will present more than 100 works by the artist.
These works are examples of Botero's art created over 70 years. Among them are the artist's first watercolor works with bullfighting scenes, created at the age of 14, as well as works painted on canvas using the individual painting technique.
The author's works are distinguished by their brightness and vitality. The artist even presents Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" in his own style—on a large scale. Botero's sculpture "Equestrian Man" was sold for $4.3 million at Christie's auction in 2022.
The record for his work at auction was $5.1 million in 2023 for "The Musicians."
In total, Botero created more than 3,000 paintings and more than 200 sculptures.
Fernando Botero has attracted the attention of a wide audience around the world.
The artist, who has had about 100 museum exhibitions in more than 30 countries and millions of followers, left Colombia at the age of 20, but his homeland has always been a source of inspiration for him.
Calling himself "the most Colombian of Colombians," the central theme in Botero's works is childhood memories: Latin American life, still lifes, and bullfighting.
In this way, he combined the universal spirit of the Italian Renaissance with the vitality of Latin America.
The artist created sketches for the Spanish theater company "Lope de Vega" and lived in Madrid and Paris in the 1950s, studied the works of the great masters and fresco techniques at the University of Florence, discovered abstract expressionism in the US, and illustrated Gabriel García Márquez's story "Tuesday Siesta."
The author, who began to engage in sculpture in 1973, turned to three-dimensional volumes.
A documentary film, "Botera," dedicated to the life and work of the artist, who died in 2023, was shot.
The film was awarded prizes in various nominations at many festivals.
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