Author(s): Mariana Hanstein

Artists & Styles

Pleasantly plump With whimsical irony and a style reminiscent of the old masters, Fernando Botero (b.1932) began painting caricatured animals and corpulent bodies with disproportionate heads at a time when his contemporaries were fervently rejecting figurative work in favor of abstraction. More recently he has expanded into sculpture, creating delightful large-scale bronze works portraying the same sorts of voluminous figures he so loved to paint. Like the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marquez or the music of Astor Piazzola, Botero's work has come to represent modern Latin American culture. About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

• a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance


• a concise biography


• approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions