MUSEO BOTERO

In the heart of Bogotá's historic center, the Botero Museum was founded in 2000, after master Fernando Botero bequeathed to the Colombian state more than a hundred of his major works and a large part of his personal collection of works by other famous artists. Admission is free and will remain so. This was one of the conditions set by Botero, to enable any Colombian to appreciate a Picasso, for example, without having to leave the country. The museum is said to have a thousand visitors a day, but you never feel oppressed, as the setting is extremely pleasant, in a large colonial building dating from 1724, which until 1955 was used to welcome archbishops on their visits to Bogotá. Botero himself helped restore the house.

The museum is of a reasonable size, on two levels, with a succession of well-lit rooms highlighting the works, and two charming patios with plenty of places to sit and relax. A visit easily lasts two or three hours, if you wish to appreciate all the works on display: 123 creations by the famous Colombian artist, between paintings, drawings and sculptures, but also 85 original works by internationally renowned artists, offering an interesting vision of the evolution of painting since the ^19th century, from Camille Corot's Gitane au tambourin , dating from before 1862, to Miquel Barceló's oil painting from 1988. This international collection is said to be one of the five largest in Latin America. It includes works by Monet, Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec, Dalí, Picasso, Miró, Klimt, Ernst, Chagall, Giacometti, Beckmann, Léger and Renoir, to name but a few!

Botero's works presented here date from the last decades of the ^20th century. the "most Colombian of Colombian artists", as he ironically nicknamed himself, has a style all his own, particularly with his round, voluptuous figures. This style is evident in his paintings, drawings and sculptures, and means that he is not associated with any particular movement or current, past or present. His work is mainly inspired by pre-Columbian art and popular culture, with many scenes set in his native Medellín. Botero celebrated his 90th birthday on April 19, 2022, before passing away the following year, in September 2023. He remains and will remain one of the most emblematic Latin American artists of the XXᵉ century.