Fernando Botero and the theme of violence in Colombian art

Abstract

The subject of this research is the theme of violence in Colombia in the works of the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, mainly of the XX century. Attention is given to determination of the prerequisites for the emergence of the theme of violence in his painting. For this purpose, analysis is conducted on the indirect presence of this theme in Botero’s works since the very beginning of his career to paintings of mature and later periods. It is demonstrated that the artist approached the reflection of the theme of violence from different perspectives, depicting massacres, tortures, death, and involuntary relocation. The article employs the method based on iconographic analysis of the artist’s works, as well as artistic and stylistic analysis. The scientific novelty lies in examination of the topic relevant to the culture and history of the Latin American country, revealed in the works of Fernando Botero, who distanced himself from comprehension of art as resistance throughout his entire career. The author concludes that the Botero’s paintings may be called a form of depicting the slaughterous history of the country, without adherence of the painter to any political or party ideology. The manner used by Botero in the series “Violence in Colombia” is identical the artist resorts to throughout his career, which leads to distortion and caricaturing of the artistic form, in combination with the tragedy of storylines, which aggravates the dramatic character of the chosen themes. The works of Botero of the late XX century are of invaluable cultural value for Colombia.