Fernando Botero, Colombian artist famed for voluptuous figures in portraits and sculpture, dies at 91

Renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero, celebrated for his iconic style featuring rotund figures used to convey political critique and satire, has died at the age of 91.

The news of his death was confirmed by his daughter, Lina Botero, in an announcement made to various Colombian media outlets on Friday.

Photographed in his Parisian studio circa 1972, Botero poses with a portrait interpreting da Vinci's classic "The Mona Lisa" in his own inimitable style.

A Botero sculpture in Plaza Botero in Medellin, Colombia pictured on April 15, 2022.

Botero's painting "Christ Crucified" on display during a 2012 retrospective of his work at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Bilbao, Spain. The exhibition, titled "Celebration," featured some 80 works by the Colombian artist spanning 60 years of his practise.

"La Gorda Gertrudis," a Botero sculpture depicting a reclining nude woman, on display in Cartagena, Colombia. According to local legend, touching the sculpture brings good luck.

Visitors to the Museum of Antioquia in Medellin take in an exhibition of Botero's work put on to celebrate his 90th birthday in 2022.

Botero's bronze sculpture "Dancer" is seen during a press preview for a Christie's auction in New York on May 26, 2009. The piece sold for $362,500.

Botero poses with his diptych "After Piero della Francesca" ahead of the opening of his exhibition "Botero in China" at the National Museum of China in Beijing in November 2015. The paintings reimagine two portraits by della Francesca, the famed Renaissance, of a 15th-century Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, and his second wife, Battista Sforza.

Botero paintings on display during a 2021 exhibition of his work in Mons, France.

A woman takes pictures of Botero's 2002 sculpture "Seated Woman" on display in Berlin in October 2007.

Botero's painting "Massacre in Colombia," on display as part of a 2006 exhibition titled "Colombia's Pain in the Eyes of Botero" at the Buenos Aires Fine Arts Museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In a tribute shared after news of Botero's death broke, Colombia's President described the artist as "the painter of our violence and our peace," among other laudations.

The body politic: the groundbreaking art of Fernando Botero

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Born on April 19, 1932, in Medellín, Botero rose to international acclaim as one of the most successful painters and sculptors of the 20th century. His distinctive style left an indelible mark on the art world. One of his most notable bodies of work included a series of paintings addressing the abuses and tortures at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq war in early 2000.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro paid tribute to the late artist with a heartfelt statement shared on his official X account, formerly known as Twitter. He described Botero as the “painter of our traditions and our shortcomings, the painter of our virtues. The painter of our violence and our peace. (The painter) of a brush a thousand times discarded and a thousand times celebrated in a throne.”

Botero's artwork is showcased in the 2009 exhibition "The Baroque World of Fernando Botero" at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, which was then the first major US retrospective of his work presented in more than 30 years.

In honor of Botero’s legacy, Colombian institutions have initiated several commemorative events. The mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero, declared seven days of mourning for the city and also expressed his sentiments on X, affirming that Botero’s life, work, and his deep connection to Medellín and Colombia would be remembered forever.

Plans for a tribute in Plaza Botero and other locations where his artistic influence is enduring have also been set in motion.

From CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota and Eyad Kourdi