Fernando Botero (b. 1932)

Acquired from the artist
Private Collection, Switzerland
Gasiunasen Gallery, Palm Beach

This work is in very good condition. Slight rubbing is apparent to the tip of the ears. Faint surface scratches are present on the base.
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In 1976, when Fernando Botero first began to work in bronze, animals formed a significant number of his first series of sculptures. Often serving as props in Western art, Botero imbues them with the same distinct subjectivity that he affords his human subjects. The dry humor and irony that characterize his painted representations of animals carry over to his sculptural work, of which this 1999 Gato is a charming example. 

The artistic tradition of representation of cats as symbols of domesticity and power can be traced to ancient Egypt, and carries through Western European aristocratic portraiture and genre painting to the present day. Botero expands on this tradition, imbuing Gato with a mischievously poked out tongue yet also dignity and strength in the harmonious curves of its body. With a psychological presence and a voluminous monumentality that belies its petite stature, Gato is a playful guardian, who evokes perhaps as much Garfield as goddess.