Cat Sculpture by Fernando Botero on E. 79th Street, April 2007

Fernando Botero (born April 19, 1932) is a neo-figurative Colombian artist, self-titled "the most Colombian of Colombian artists." He won the first prize at the Salón de Artistas Colombianos in 1958, He paints and draws in a style somewhat similar to Pablo Picasso whilst he lived in Dinard, Brittany, 1922, for example "Deux femmes courant sur la plage" (The Course). He strives in all his work to capture an essential part of himself and his subjects through color and form. His work includes still-life and landscapes, but Botero tends to primarily focus on situational portraiture. His paintings and sculptures are, on first examination, noted for their exaggerated proportions and the corpulence of the human figures and animal figures. The "fat people" are often thought by critics to satirize the subjects and situations that Botero chooses to paint. Botero explains his use of obese figures and forms as such: "An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it." He is an abstract artist in the most fundamental sense of the word, choosing what colors, shapes, and proportions to use based on intuitive aesthetic thinking. This being said, his works are informed by a Colombian upbringing and social commentary is woven throughout his work.

Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Botero