Botero is best known for painting exaggeratedly voluptuous figures and portraits that can be readas either comical or critical. Working in Paris since the late 1950s but regularly visiting his hometown of Medellín, Colombia, Botero is one of the most widely known artists from Latin America. His portrait La familia presidencial (The Presidential Family) combines all the trademarks of his best works and serves as a critique of civil society and state authority. It depicts the president of Colombia—the male figure in the back of the group to the left—his family, and those with whom he shares state power. The president, his wife, his daughter, and a grandmother can be seen on the left, while a general and a bishop appear on the right. Botero's depiction might be understood as a veiled critique but leaves his ultimate motives ambiguous.
Gallery label from Transmissions: Art in Eastern Europe and Latin America, 1960–1980, September 5, 2015–January 3, 2016.
