Artist Fernando Botero dies

Colombian artist Fernando Botero has died at the age of 91. He is considered one of the most important Hispanic artists in the world and the greatest Colombian artist of all time. The information was confirmed by Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper. His daughter, Lina Botero, said her father had suffered from Parkinson's disease for years. "My dad had been with difficult Parkinson's for many years, but he was able to work until the last day and painted at home," Lina Botero told W radio.

According to local media, he died at his home in Monaco on Friday, Sept. 15. Although he was in a hospital, Botero asked to be transferred home. "Sources close to the painter told El Tiempo that he had been showing health problems that kept him hospitalized for several days in a medical center, but he asked to be transferred to his home to pass on his ailments," the Colombian newspaper said.

Botero was born in Medellín and broke numerous artistic records, such as gathering 300,000 people in the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico or 155,000 in the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, Spain. "Botero's work is immortal. He was the one who put national art on the most important international stages in the world. In fact, his sculptures are in prominent places, such as in the United States and France," reported El Tiempo.

Botero's works have gone around the world and have been auctioned for millions of dollars. His paintings, highlighted by characters who have been known as “las gordas de Botero” (Botero’s fat ones), have been placed in some of the most prominent museums in the world. In addition, his steel sculptures are found in streets and plazas in major cities. For example, in 2022, the sculpture “Man on Horseback” was sold at an auction of Christie's in New York for $4.3 million, a record price for the artist.