Fernando Botero (b. 1932)

Marlborough Galleria d'Arte, Rome
Harold Reed Gallery, New York
Estudio Actual, Caracas
Sale: Christie's, New York, Important Latin American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, November 23, 1993, lot 68, illustrated in color

Germán Arciniegas, Fernando Botero, New York, 1977, no. 174, illustrated
Marcel Paquet, Botero. Philosophie de la création, Tielt, Belgium, 1985, no. 31, p. 58

This painting is in beautiful condition. The canvas is still stretched on what appears to be the original stretcher. The paint layer is undamaged and seems to be un-retouched. There are possibly two small scuffs in the sky on the left which could easily be removed. The painting has never been cleaned and there is probably a very slight layer of airborne dirt throughout. However, this airborne dirt layer is not obvious and it is appropriate to hang the picture as is. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.)
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Fernando Botero has explored and painted nearly every aspect of Colombia's visual identity. He has portrayed the soul of Colombian society from presidents, generals, bishops, musicians, to the small town everyday man. Women are equally represented: from the President's wife, house wives to dissolute women working in bars and bordellos. In Botero's paintings, Colombians are dressed in pompous attire, run naked, or are in rags. Since the early 1960's he has dedicated an important body of work to religious themes: Madonna and Child (1965),Christ (Ecce Homo, 1967) , St Rose of Lima (1968). Adding to these votive images from the colonial past, Botero has also painted portraits of nuns, as was the custom in the 17th and 18 Centuries.

In Nuestra Señora de Cajicá, 1972, Botero reinterprets an iconic painting representing Our Lady of Colombia, executed in 1967, now at Museo de Antioquía in Medellín. Cajicá is a small town in the Province of Cundinamarca near Bogotá in which the artist had a farm and a country house. It is as if the Virgin has made her appearance in the groves of the estate and Botero invokes her divine protection. Although The Virgin Mary seems to be floating in front of the tree, with her left foot over the devilish black snake, the pyramidal composition and the vibrant colors anchor her in the middle of the painting as if she was sitting in an altar niche.

The Virgin offers an apple taken from the tree behind her to baby Jesus (or is it baby Botero?) who holds a Colombian Flag in his left hand. Edward Sullivan writes: "Botero's self-identification as a man and an artist from, and of, Colombia is the single most outstanding characteristic of his art. In fact, one can cite works in virtually every genre and analyze them according to the specifically Colombian elements present in them. We have seen already how in his religious compositions such as Our Lady of Colombia, the flag connotes national identity".[1] Sullivan adds "Although Botero does not subject his religious images to the test of irony or skepticism, his paintings and drawings are not done with the same sense of unquestioning faith as those of which he derived inspiration. Botero´s position is always that of a late twentieth-century artist revisiting religious subject matter, completely aware of the gulf that exists in our time between blind faith in religious doctrine and the inevitable doubts imposed by the secular world of today".[2]

While in Our Lady of Colombia, 1967 the Virgin is surrounded by colorful cloud of roses echoing the paintings of the Cuzco School, in Nuestra Señora de Cajicá  the roses are replaced by a group of funny looking Lilliputian monks, bishops, nuns and altar boys as if growing out of the tree. The soft colors of the painting are luminous; the gravitas of the Virgin, looking over the eyes of the viewer, makes her somehow unreachable. This is a painting in which Botero, once again, manages to masterfully re-interpret the history of art to give the classic genres a new life.

[1] Fernando Botero, Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné , Paintings 1975 – 1990, Texts by Edward Sullivan and Jean Marie Tasset, Acatos Ed, 2000, page 31

[2] Ibid., page 18