- 19
Fernando Botero (b. 1932)
Estimate
1,500,000 - 2,000,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Fernando Botero
- Card Players
- signed and dated 91 lower right
- oil on canvas
- 60 by 71 in.
- 152 by 181 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Switzerland
Private Collection, New York
Private Collection, New York
Exhibited
Rome, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Botero Antologica, 1949-1991, December 11, 1991-February 2, 1992, no. 59, p. 4, illustrated in color
Avignon, Palais des Papes, June 4-September 5, 1993; Moscow, The Pushkin Museum, September 23-November 27, 1993; St. Petersburg, The Hermitage, November 22-December 20, 1993, Le Gai Savoir de Fernando Botero
Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Botero en Buenos Aires, April-May 1994, p. 86, illustrated in color
Lugano, Museo d'Arte Moderna, Fernando Botero, July 31-October 12, 1997
Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Fernando Botero, Sepember 29, 2001-January 13, 2002
Vienna, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Botero, October 12, 2011-January 15, 2012
Avignon, Palais des Papes, June 4-September 5, 1993; Moscow, The Pushkin Museum, September 23-November 27, 1993; St. Petersburg, The Hermitage, November 22-December 20, 1993, Le Gai Savoir de Fernando Botero
Buenos Aires, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Botero en Buenos Aires, April-May 1994, p. 86, illustrated in color
Lugano, Museo d'Arte Moderna, Fernando Botero, July 31-October 12, 1997
Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Fernando Botero, Sepember 29, 2001-January 13, 2002
Vienna, Bank Austria Kunstforum, Botero, October 12, 2011-January 15, 2012
Literature
Benjamín Villegas, et. al., Botero, Nuevas obras de lienzo, Bogotá, 1997, p. 98, illustrated in color
Condition
This painting is in perfect condition. There are no restorations or damages. It is still stretched as
originally intended. The work should be hung 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.
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.
Catalogue Note
The theme of men sitting around a table playing cards is well known in art history, perhaps the most famous example being Paul Cezanne's several studies of the same subject. Botero is an extremely educated painter who is well known for his re-interpretations of famous paintings (see his version of Piero della Francesca's Portrait of the Duke of Urbino lot 129 in this sale) and has explored the theme of card players several times. When asked in a 1979 interview by Wibke von Bonin "What is your relationship to art history?" Botero replied "A great one. Sometimes I do versions of the masterpieces just to learn" [1].
Discussing his use of art historical sources, Botero has stated "You can take the same subject and create a totally different painting. That's where the real originality lies, in taking something that's already been done and doing it differently. The important thing for me is to take images that are so well known that they've almost become part of popular culture, and then do something different with them. Sometimes, it is that I am deeply interested in understanding a painting, it's technique and the spirit behind it" [2]. The appropriation of well-known images is often seen in twentieth century art. Many artists, amongst them Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons have, like Botero, built careers where re-interpreting the well-known, plays a major part in their oeuvre. Despite the perception that appropriation is a new mannerism of twentieth century art, appropriation has been practiced for centuries, a notable example being in the work of the Chinese landscape painters of the Yuan School, who repeated antique landscape compositions over and over for generations in order to better concentrate on the inner landscape of the scholar-painter's mind.
Botero takes the Cezanne's Card players and makes it his own. In this present interpretation, he brings together several themes that have re-appeared in his work for decades: the psychology of the institution of bordellos, which were much more than places of carnal pleasure, more akin to men's clubs he discovered when he was a young man in his native town of Medellín, Colombia.The seated figure of the nude woman on the right is not sexual, she sits ramrod straight, she is part of the game. She makes us remember that we are voyeurs on this scene, not unlike the naked figure of the woman in Manet's (at the time) shocking painting, Déjeuner sur l'herbe. In the almost hidden figure of the bishop, whose face, hand and red trimmed robe are seen coming out of the doorway in the background, is another recurrent theme in Botero's work : a stern eye for those in power. These subversive depictions of government officials, generals and the hierarchy of organized religion were first expressed in his paintings of the 1960’s and brought him to fame. Over the decades, when he has seen injustice, Botero has brought it to the forefront of his work. His observant eye, sometimes humorous, sometimes sarcastic for the happenings in the world around him, has never left.
Discussing his use of art historical sources, Botero has stated "You can take the same subject and create a totally different painting. That's where the real originality lies, in taking something that's already been done and doing it differently. The important thing for me is to take images that are so well known that they've almost become part of popular culture, and then do something different with them. Sometimes, it is that I am deeply interested in understanding a painting, it's technique and the spirit behind it" [2]. The appropriation of well-known images is often seen in twentieth century art. Many artists, amongst them Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons have, like Botero, built careers where re-interpreting the well-known, plays a major part in their oeuvre. Despite the perception that appropriation is a new mannerism of twentieth century art, appropriation has been practiced for centuries, a notable example being in the work of the Chinese landscape painters of the Yuan School, who repeated antique landscape compositions over and over for generations in order to better concentrate on the inner landscape of the scholar-painter's mind.
Botero takes the Cezanne's Card players and makes it his own. In this present interpretation, he brings together several themes that have re-appeared in his work for decades: the psychology of the institution of bordellos, which were much more than places of carnal pleasure, more akin to men's clubs he discovered when he was a young man in his native town of Medellín, Colombia.The seated figure of the nude woman on the right is not sexual, she sits ramrod straight, she is part of the game. She makes us remember that we are voyeurs on this scene, not unlike the naked figure of the woman in Manet's (at the time) shocking painting, Déjeuner sur l'herbe. In the almost hidden figure of the bishop, whose face, hand and red trimmed robe are seen coming out of the doorway in the background, is another recurrent theme in Botero's work : a stern eye for those in power. These subversive depictions of government officials, generals and the hierarchy of organized religion were first expressed in his paintings of the 1960’s and brought him to fame. Over the decades, when he has seen injustice, Botero has brought it to the forefront of his work. His observant eye, sometimes humorous, sometimes sarcastic for the happenings in the world around him, has never left.
[1.] New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1977. Fernando Botero. German Arciniegas 1977, p.22
[2.] As quoted in Fernando Botero, Botero Women (New York, NY: Rizzoli Publications, 2003) p.84. Originally published in Werner Spies “I’m the most Colombian of Artists: A conversation with Fernando Botero” in Fernando Botero: Paintings and Drawings(Munich: Prestel, 1992)