The Resume

(April 19, 1932-September 15, 2023)
Born in Medellin, Colombia
Painter and sculptor
Known for exaggerated 'inflated' depictions of people in his works
Sculptures include 'Roman Soldier' (1985), 'Maternity' (1989) and 'The Left Hand' (1992)
Paintings include 'Mona Lisa, Age 12' (1959), 'The Presidential Family' (1967) and series based on Colombian drug violence (2003-04), the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal (2005-06) and the Circus (2007-08)
The AIA profile picture of Pablo Escobar is a Botero painting

Why he might be annoying:

He attended matador school for two years as a teen.
He hates when the figures in his paintings are called 'fat.' preferring the word 'opulent.'
Some critics consider his repeated use of fat -- sorry, opulent -- figures to be a gimmick.
He fathered a son out of wedlock between his two marriages (1974).
He calls himself 'the most Colombian of Colombian artists,' but spends only one month of the year in his native country. (Most of the rest of the year is spent in Paris, Monaco and Italy.)

Why he might not be annoying:

He had his first solo exhibition at age 19.
His five year old son Pedro was killed in a car crash in which he was also injured, losing a finger (1979).
He donated over 400 paintings and sculptures -- including works by Picasso, Chagall and Miro in addition to his own -- to establish two new museums in Bogota and his hometown (2000).
He donated his Abu Ghraib paintings to museums, saying he did not want to profit from other people's pain.
He said, 'My popularity has to do with the divorce between modern art, where everything is obscure, and the viewer, who often feels he needs a professor to tell them whether it's good or not. I believe a painting has to talk directly to the viewer, with composition, color and design, without a professor to explain it.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Painters
• 21st Century Painters
• Amputees
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 59]
• Colombians
• I Died in 2023 (Ranked: 91)
• I Fathered Children Out of Wedlock
• I Named My Kid After Myself
• I Outlived My Child
• Look at Me, I'm Naked
• Look at Me, My Picture Is Art
• Look at My Flag
• Painters
• Profiles 37001-37250 (Ranked: 37047)
• Sculptors
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20230915)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 50 Votes: 68.00% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 28 Votes: 32.14% Annoying