One of the best cultural spaces in Bogotá, the Botero Museum.
in full historic center of Bogota, is located the Botero Museum in an old colonial house. Inside, one of the most important collections in America is exhibited, with works by Fernando Botero and the best artists in Western history.
All this has been possible thanks to the donation of own Ferdinand Boterowhich gave the pieces of his personal collection for the enjoyment of the general public.
It is one of the best museums in Bogota. With works by Fernando Botero (watercolors, oil paintings and sculptures). In addition to artists such as Picasso, Renoir, Degas, Dalí or Matisse.
A long time has passed since the spring 1994 The exhibition will be inauguratedBotero in Madrid”, and the city will be filled with sculptures by the Colombian artist. When I was 17 years old, I remember searching the streets for the huge sculptures and trying to see them all. And so with that memory in my head, when we planned our trip through Colombia, I knew that we had to make a mandatory stop at the Botero Museum, in the city of Bogotá.
Fernando Botero’s work is unmistakable. No one has painted and sculpted realistically in such a unique style. His models have rounded shapesIt doesn’t matter if it’s a person or a horse. They all seem to be “fat”. Perhaps it is that very personal style that makes it so unmistakable and original. Getting out of the “aesthetic ideal models” marked by society.
– History of Fernando Botero.
Born April 19, 1932 in Medellin, the famous Colombian painter and sculptor, is famous for his volumetric style of figures and objects. In addition to a great art collector.
His work It encompasses topics ranging from daily life in Colombia, to art historical references and the excesses of power.
Fernando Botero in the beginning He was educated as a bullfighter, but left this profession in just two years to devote himself to art.
A early 1950s He traveled to Europe, where he imitated works by Francisco de Goya and Diego Velázquez in the Prado Museum (Madrid) and later he would travel to Italy, where he analyzed the paintings of Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca.
In 1960 moves to New York. Being in the 1970s when Botero had already adopted the technique for which he is famous today.
His works are exhibited in great museums around the worldsuch as the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA), the Art Institute of Chicago and the Botero Museum in Bogotá.
– Visiting the Botero Museum in Bogotá.
When Fernando Botero donated part of his collection (208 works, 123 own and 85 by international artists) to the Botero Museum in Bogotá, one of the clauses of the donation was that none of the works could be moved once hung or located. In this way, the assembly that can be seen today is the original that Botero devised in the year 2000.
– Works by Fernando Botero:
The collection of 123 pieces include oil paintings, drawings, pastels and sculptures made by Fernando Botero during the last twenty years of his artistic career.
Their earliest works, those from the 40s, 50s and 60s are not represented. But if you want to know the beginnings of the artist, you can find them in the permanent exhibition of the National Museum of Colombiaalso in Bogota.
inside the collection several works stand out. A version of the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, a part of the first series on violence in Colombia (“Pablo Escobar“, “Fixed shot“, “Bomb car“, “The Best Corner massacre“, among other). The last series on violence in Colombiais also in the National Museum of Colombia.
There is a room dedicated to sculptures of the artist of small and medium size, with elaborate sculptures of bronze and marble.
– International Collection:
Within the collection of 85 pieces of international artwe could highlight some great artists of different styles:
– Sculptures by Botero in the streets of Madrid.
Still to this day, we can enjoy in Madrid three of his works sculptural made in bronze.
– “woman with mirror”. It was given to the city of Madrid by Fernando Botero himself, given the great reception that his exhibition received in 1994.
It is very close to the Plaza de Colón, on the Paseo de Recoletos.
– “Hand”. Purchased for seventy million pesetas by the Fundación Telefónica, it was later ceded to the city.
It is located in front of the Museum of Natural Sciences, in the Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz. In the Paseo de la Castellana.
As a curiosity to say that the sculpture weighs 500 kilos.
– “The Rapture of Europe”. It was bought by Aena, to place it between the car park and Terminal 1 of the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport.
Colombia has many places to visit. In this list you can see the essential places to see in Colombia.” bigsmile
– Useful information to visit the Botero Museum.
Address: It is located in the neighborhood of La Candelaria, on Calle 11 #, Carrera 4-21.
Schedule: Tuesday closed.
From Monday to Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sundays and holidays: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Price of admission: Admission is free.
Web page: Art collection of the Bank of the Republic.