Fernando Botero
Fernando Botero's most ambitious piece in the Museum of Antioquia is Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette on a Visit to Medellin, Colombia, because of the format (it is a diptych) and because it deals with many themes in a single scene. It's impossible to pass by and be indifferent to it. The visit never really happened. And in this case, it's what matters least because this is a parody that Botero took quite seriously.
Although Botero never met these two characters in person (how could he, they were decapitated during the French Revolution in 1793), he did meet them through paintings. Botero is citing other painters, especially painters who indeed existed in the courts of these monarchs. Botero embraces this painting narrative and uses it in his own way. The disproportion, excess, and big hairstyles in this court are closely related to its aesthetics, which explains why the volumes are sometimes typical characteristics.
There is mockery and sarcasm; Botero blends the history of art and its origins to place some monarchs in an environment that is foreign to them. That is why the character played by Botero's mother becomes a mediator; she acts as a witness to this great event, leaning out the door of her house, as if expectant.
In this diptych, there is also an idea of Medellín that the artist keeps from his childhood and adolescence experiences: a Medellín with small houses piled up. It is the image of the city that Botero will always have because he stopped living here at a very young age. It's the stare of nostalgia.
We present today's Botero (I LOVE HIS WORKS SO MUCH) thanks to the Museum of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. : )
P.S. Here you will find a selection of lesser known and very interesting Botero paintings you should know!