In the Beginning: Fernando Botero

Fernando Botero (1932 - ), Wikipedia entry here, is not one of my favorite artists, as I have posted. I like neither his art nor his politics, but do not particularly begrudge his success.

Since the mid-to-late 1950s, when he was in his 20s, Botero stumbled on his trademark subject matter of grossly fat people. That takes in nearly his entire career. But for a few years his style was different, though quickly evolving into what made him wealthy.

I found a few examples of the early Botero to show you:

Gallery

Woman Reading
Typical Botero painting to set the scene.

Frente al Mar - 1952
Most of these folks are scrawny.

Indian Girl - 1952
A normal-size person.

Horses on the Beach - 1953
Now we see some unnaturally chubby horses.

En blanco rosa y negro - c. 1952-55
A heavier human, but within normal bounds.

Photo a Botero with La Camara degli Sposi (Homena a Mantegna) - c. 1961
I almost think the overweight Diego Rivera should have been the artist here and not the normal-size Botero.