Every contemporary artist has an easily recognizable signature style and distinctive visual elements, and the famous Colombian artist Fernando Botero is one of them. The creative, who died in 2023 after many decades of fruitful work, acquired worldwide fame for his iconic images of exaggerated, voluminous forms – this manner is referred to as Boterismo. The present-day artistic community knows Botero animals and oversized people as the artist’s trademark style.

Fernando Botero started his creative career in the late 1940s but became widely known only by the mid-1990s, with his sculptures and paintings taking notable positions in many international museums’ collections. Botero’s path to fame was not easy, as critics weren’t quick to appreciate the whimsical round shapes in the times of confident dominance of abstract expressionism in the contemporary art scene. Yet, his trademark sensuous and volumetric forms steadily gained popularity, and some of them have even become landmark sites in major European capitals, like the Botero Cat and Horse in Barcelona.

What Are Botero Animals?

Apart from using voluminous, extra-size human figures in his symbolism, Fernando Botero heavily relied on the imagery of various animals in his work. Botero’s cats traditionally have rounded, lumpy bodies and are depicted as sitting or reclining with a tranquil expression on their faces. This way, the cat sculptures and paintings usually produce a playful yet dignified impression on the audience.

The list of Botero animals also includes horses; the artist envisioned horses with exaggerated musculature to embody power and grace. Another repeating animal image in Botero’s work is that of birds; similar to cats, they usually have rounded, exaggerated forms and are performed in smooth, curving strokes. Botero’s fish also possess similar features and embody graceful movement through water.

Fernando Botero also depicted bulls in some of his works; they symbolize strength and vigor and feature dynamism and power in their positioning and form. The artist frequently used images of dogs, which are similarly rounded and playful as his signature cat images.

What’s Behind Boterismo?

Fernando Botero’s easily recognizable style of representing well-known images and shapes in an unusual manner comes with a well-thought-out philosophy and esthetic vision. According to the artist, animals and people are his political criticism with humorous elements. Yet, some of his works are overt political critiques, such as a series of paintings dedicated to abuses in the Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraq War. With a broad spectrum of themes and symbols and a distinctive visual style, Botero remains one of the best-recognized figurative artists.