3450 - FERNANDO BOTERO

FERNANDO BOTERO (Medellín 1932–2023 Monaco) Two Musicians. 1997. Oil on canvas. Signed and dated lower right: Botero 97. 45.5 × 38.5 cm. Provenance: - Galerie Thomas, Munich (label on verso). - Private collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above gallery on 17.6.2007. This work is recorded in the Fernando Botero Archives, Mexico, under the number COS 5283. Our thanks to Fernando Botero Zea for the kind support. Painted in 1997, ‘Two Musicians’ exemplifies Botero’s distinctive style. It depicts two heavily built men making music together. In the foreground, a musician in a brown jacket and ochre-coloured hat plays a red drum, while his companion in a dark jacket and black hat raises a golden-yellow trumpet to his lips. The figures almost entirely fill the pictorial space and appear nearly monumental through their accentuated curves, strong hands and massive legs. Their deliberately exaggerated proportions are central to the composition and emphasise the sculptural effect of the two men. The composition is clearly and evenly structured. The angled drum and trumpet create diagonal lines that introduce movement into an otherwise calm scene. The green door and wall calendar lend the image an everyday yet theatrical character. Botero combines the tradition of figurative painting with an individual interpretation of the human body. Rather than striving for naturalism, Botero uses bodily fullness to heighten volume and expression. This creates an engaging contrast between the physical weight of the musicians and the liveliness of their music. The scene is gently humorous, yet never ridicules its subjects. Rather, Botero treats them with dignity and human warmth. ‘Two Musicians’ is thus characteristic of his art, in which everyday subjects acquire a new effect, both cheerful and powerful, through an unmistakable formal language.