‘A way of celebrating presence’: What Botero’s rotund remakes of classical masterpieces tell us about art history

For Botero, exaggerating objects and figures was “a way of celebrating the presence of things,” Herrera Ottino says, adding that it was also a “celebration of life, and of the sensuality of nature”. During his life, he often explained that his artworks’ main purpose was to uplift the spirits of those who viewed it, which he believed form and colour in particular could do. “It was clear to him that throughout history, the purpose of art was to create pleasure,” adds the artist’s son, and former Colombian Minister of Defence, Fernando Botero Zea.