Virtuous

We present today's Botero (I LOVE HIS WORKS SO MUCH) thanks to the Museum of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia.  : )

Bishops, cardinals, nuns, and Christ frequently appear in Botero's production during the last decades of the 20th century. The motivation to work with this theme has a symbolic nature as its origin; the iconography, typical of the religious imaginary, is very rich and offers numerous creative possibilities to the artist: crosiers, camandulas, and crucifixes allow Botero to create his characters. This has led others to become his detractors, however, because some criticize his way of portraying what is sacred.

Nevertheless, in an interview for El Espectador in 1972, Botero said, "When I paint priests, it is not because I am sarcastic or I am fighting with them. It is because the clergy offers extraordinary pictorial possibilities; they have every attractive attire (...). The attraction is more towards the clothes than towards anything else. There's humor in paintings with priests, but it's not hatred in any way. The situations in which they appear in paintings are a little absurd, but there is no feeling of bitterness. Mockery, yes, but why shouldn't a priest be mocked?"

P.S. Botero has made many remakes of the classic masterpieces. They are brilliant! See them here.