Organizers have honored the self-styled “Most Colombian of Colombian artists” at the 25th Bogota International Book Fair by launching “The Violence in Colombia According To Fernando Botero.”
The book interweaves the Andean nation’s history with the life of Fernando Botero, who celebrated his 80th birthday this month.
The Medellin-born artist was 16-years-old when presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was assassinated in 1948, an event which unleashed a bloody 10-year civil conflict known as “La Violencia.” As such Botero has been well placed to comment on his country’s history, having experienced first hand its modern highs and lows.
“The Violence in Colombia According to Fernando Botero” includes a catalogue of Botero’s art dealing with the events such as La Violencia and the ongoing guerrilla insurgency, which began in 1964.
The book’s contributors, drawn from the Art History and Graphic Design departments of Bogota’s major universities, were inspired to publish it by the 2009 Botero exhibition itself entitled “The Violence in Colombia.”
The works discussed were chosen from 67 artworks Botero donated to Colombia’s National Museum, regrouped under the name “The Violence in Colombia.”
