Publisher's Synopsis
Colombian painter, draughtsman and sculptor Fernando Botero (born 1932) is probably the best-known Latin American artist working today. Fernando Botero: A Celebration is published to coincide with the biggest retrospective exhibition of the artist's career, and to celebrate his eightieth birthday. Botero was directly involved in the organization of the exhibition, which gives a complete, theme-based overview of his oeuvre, and features 100 or so of the artist's works from the last 65 years, most of which are from his own private collection. Largely self-taught, Botero had his first one-man show in Bogotá in 1951. His early influences--Italian fresco painting, the mural art of Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco and the painting of Rufino Tamayo and José Luis Cuevas--quickly receded as he began to develop a highly personal style, exploring themes ranging from everyday life in Colombia to historical figures, from the still life to the circus and bullfights. With their opulent forms, exuberant colors and vigorous composition full of tangible, life-affirming vitality, Botero's paintings are so immediately recognizable that they have even birthed a style known as "Boterismo." Fernando Botero: A Celebration is a superbly illustrated career overview of this popular and highly regarded artist.
