Fernando Botero Angulo (born April 19, 1932 in Medellín, Antioquia) is a Colombian neo-figurative artist, self-titled "the most Colombian of Colombian artists" early on, coming to prominence when he won the first prize at the Salón de Artistas Colombianos in 1959.

His work includes still-life and landscapes, but Botero tends to primarily focus on situational portraiture. His paintings and sculptures are, on first examination, noted for their exaggerated proportions and the corpulence of the human figures and animal figures.

The "large people" is what they are often called by critics. Botero explains his use of obese figures and forms as such: "An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it."


STYLE

He is an abstract artist in the most fundamental sense of the word, choosing what colors, shapes, and proportions to use based on intuitive aesthetic thinking. This being said, his works are informed by a Colombian upbringing and social commentary is woven throughout his work.


EARLY YEARS

Botero is born in Medellín, Colombia, where the Catholic churches have maintained the Baroque style. His father died when Botero was still at the age of two. Through his childhood, Botero has been isolated from the traditional art scenes like the museums and other cultural infrastructures. By 16, Botero published his first illustration in the Colombian newspaper El Colombiano and he used this earning from the illustrations to pay for his high school education at the Liceo de Marinilla de Antioquia. In 1952, he traveled to Bogotá and gave a personal exposition at the Leo Matiz gallery. Later that year, he won the IX edition of the Salón de Artistas Colombianos. Botero went to study arts in France.