Fernando Botero Enter a
feeling, not
a gallery.
Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
Fernando Botero
Early Life, Family and Training Fernando Botero was born on April 19, 1932, in Medellín, Colombia. His early years were shaped by the quiet, steady rhythms of a household working to make ends meet. His father, David Botero, earned a living as a salesman, often traveling by horseback to reach his customers. His mother, Flora Angulo, worked as a seamstress, providing the necessary support for the family. These early surroundings provided
a sense of place that would remain with him long after he left the city. In his youth, Fernando Botero spent several years attending a school for matadors. He was trained in the movements and traditions of the bullring, but his interests eventually pulled him away from the arena. By the age of 16, his focus had shifted toward drawing and sketching. In 1948, his first illustrations were published in the Sunday supplement of El Colombi…