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The Baroque World of Fernando Botero, a touring exhibition of the popular Colombian artist’s work, opens to the public March 19 at the Toledo Museum of Art.
Toledo is the final stop and only Midwest venue for the exhibition.
Known for the larger-than-life scale of his work and his use of vibrant colors, Colombian painter, sculptor and draftsman Fernando Botero has a style instantly recognized as his alone. Inspired by Baroque painters but grounded by his Latin American roots, he depicts the comedy of human life—moving or wry, sometimes with mocking observations, sometimes with deep, basic emotions.
Museum visitors can investigate the complexity of Botero’s artistry by viewing some of his best-known works as well as others in the exhibition, which will be on display through June 12 in Galleries 28A-C.
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The oil-on-canvas “After Velázquez” will be on
display as part of The Baroque World of
Fernando Botero, a touring exhibition of the
popular Colombian artist’s work that opens
to the public March 19 at the Toledo Museum
of Art. The exhibition is organized and
circulated by Art Services International,
Alexandria, Va.
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The oil-on-canvas “Still Life with Mandolin"
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Organized by Art Services International of Alexandria, Va., the exhibition opened in January 2007 in Canada at the Musée National des Beaux–Arts du Québec and, since then, has been seen at 11 other U.S. museums, mostly in the South.
Botero, who was born in 1932, works in a broad range of media, and his work is popular around the globe. He also has found inspiration in a broad range of artists, including those of the Baroque movement of the 17th century. One hundred paintings, sculptures and drawings from the artist’s personal collection assembled over the past 50 years will be on view in Toledo. The works, selected by John Sillevis, curator of the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, include favorites that Botero was unable to part with as well as pieces he reacquired years after they originally left his possession.
The exhibition contains some of the best works from various stages in Botero’s development as an artist. There also are occasional “flashbacks” to his early works in the 1950s. His extensive studies of the history of European and Mexican art are clearly evident. While most of his time as an artist has been spent outside his native Colombia, Botero has maintained a link to Latin American Baroque imagery in all of his works.
Botero’s craftsmanship may be most evident in his drawings, especially his pastels, which often are compared to early etchings by Pablo Picasso.
Also of note are Botero’s bronze and marble sculptures – monumental, voluptuous figures that transform their surroundings into a world of fantasy that is uniquely his.
Admission to the exhibition is free for TMA members and children under 6 years of age. Admission for non-members is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors age 65 and over, and $5 for students ages 6 to 22. Reduced rates are available for student and other groups. Tickets can be purchased online and at the Museum beginning March 15. There is a $1 handling charge for tickets purchased online.
The exhibition is circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Va. Her Excellency, Carolina Barco, Colombia Ambassador to the United States, is honorary patron of the exhibition.
Admission to the museum is free.
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