Fernando Btero Use Of Boterismo

This paper discusses Fernando Botero’s use of boterismo to draw audiences into his artwork only to discover the horrific scenes that exist within them. Fernando Botero is a Colombian artist who has developed his style called boterismo to create controversy surrounding his works. Boterismo is a style which adds volume and enticing colors to art. Botero does not openly reveal his style’s true purpose or acknowledge any modifications have been even made to his work. Despite this, Botero actively changes his purpose of boterismo depending on the artwork. His replication of Mona Lisa is simply a comedic piece while his El Dolor de Colombia Exhibition showcases the ten-year violent period in Colombian history labeled La Violencia. The mystery Botero
From a distance, the artwork looks joyful. It contains a bright pink church and even a family standing in front of it. However, the closer look the image is examined the grimmer the picture becomes. The brightly colored man is actually a murderer who is trying to kill a mother and her children. The man does not seem afraid or frightful that he committing a murder in the middle of the day. The knife he is holding already has blood on it, which implies this is not his first killing. Fernando Botero is trying to explain how ruthless the murderers truly were as well as how common murders occurred. The painting’s name translates to “the killing of the innocents.” Fernando Botero is depicting the political unrest that existed within the government during 1948 to 1958 in Colombia. Due to the unstable government, everyone from the drug cartel to local bandits was able to take advantage of the humble people living in rural areas of Colombia (Sánchez). Political parties had combined their interests with the local mafias in order to gain more voting territory (Coatsworth, 2003). With this connection, the underworld of Colombia seemingly ran the rural areas of Colombia. If any politician tried to interfere with the status quo, the mafia simply killed them. Reportedly, more than 3,000 candidates for public positions were killed because they were trying to establish peace (Coatsworth). Another key component of Matanza de Los Inocentes is the size of buildings around the main characters. Only the church behind the murder is bigger than him. This is Fernando Botero trying to show the church’s involvement throughout the civil war. Botero colors the church pink rather than the common white associated with purity. This is because the general catalyst to the civil war was the Catholic Church. Liberals tried “to