Fernando Botero in early days used exaggerated and disproportionate volumetry expressing the theme of the paintings by previous generation of masters; Botero today, tells us what the essence of art in Colombia is with paintings of pain and violence.
Mona Lisa
Fernando Botero is said to be famous for the painting and sculpture of obesity. The fat man in his works is often interpreted as the criticism and irony of the aristocracy and the middle class. Both men and women, the expression of each face in his paintings looks almost the same with similar plump body. However, themes of each painting are different. In his paintings, even the President of Colombia, Christ, the Virgin could not escape the fate of being obesity.
When being asked why he chooses fatty as the protagonist of his work, he explains "What I paint is now fatty but to express a volume beauty through practical subject matter. Art is deformed and exaggerated, and it has nothing to do with the fatty. The fatty does not mean only person but also animals, fruits, musical instruments." He thinks that an artist will focus on some kind of art form without knowing the reason.
Fernando Botero depicts figurers like the inflated balloon with extremely exaggerated visual image, which reveals the feelings of irony, humor, and mixed with a hint of social and political commentary. Other objects like animals and fruits are depicted by same technique as the figures. Seen from the form, the fatty is always the main role and from the standpoint of content, it changes from the early years of rural life scenes to "fat"figure to criticize the society.
His painting Mona Lisa is the exaggerated deformation of Mona Lisa by Laonardo Da Vinci. But the most noteworthy thing about the Mona Lisa painting is that Botero is not the first person for teasing and ridicule of the Mona Lisa. Duchamp has played it along time ago. Fernando Botero has painted many pieces of the Mona Lisa, such as Mona Lisa Aged 12 which it depicts his imagination of youth Mona Lisa.
