24 NOVEMBER 2017 11 MARCH 2018 - Portail Culturespacesculturespaces.com/sites/ceportail/files/dp_botero_uk_0.pdf · 2017. 10. 25. · Fernando Botero Angulo is born in Medellín,

24 NOVEMBER 201711 MARCH 2018

Fernando Botero, The Fornarina, after Raphaël, 2008, oil on canvas, 198 x 143 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

CONTENTS

Page 1

PRESS RELEASE

Page 3

THE EXHIBITION ITINERARY

Page 6

KEY DATES IN FERNANDO BOTERO’S LIFE

Page 9

EXTRACTS OF AN INTERVIEW WITH FERNANDO BOTEROINTERVIEWED BY CECILIA BRASCHI

Page 14

AROUND THE EXHIBITION

Page 15

IMAGES AVAILABLE FOR THE PRESS

Page 21

THE TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ARTISTIC PROJECT

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PICASSO-MÉDITERRANNÉE: UNE INITIATIVE DU MUSÉE NATIONAL PICASSO-PARIS

Page 23

LA SOCIÉTÉ MARSEILLAISE DE CRÉDIT, SPONSOR OF THE EXHIBITION

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PARTNERS OF THE EXHIBITION

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CULTURESPACES, PRODUCER OF THE EXHIBITION AND OWNER OF THE HÔTEL DE CAUMONT-CENTRE D’ART

Page 26

THE HÔTEL DE CAUMONT-CENTRE D’ART IN AIX-EN-PROVENCE

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THE CULTURESPACES FOUNDATION

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PRACTICAL INFORMATION

4 Press release I Botero : a dialogue with Picasso I Hôtel de Caumont - Centre d’Art, Aix-en-Provence

« You cannot finish something if you do not begin. You have to finish something you have started, and take risks. In that regard, there is no better example than Picasso. » Botero

The exhibition « Botero, dialogue avec Picasso » (« Botero: a dialogue with Picasso »), which will be held at the Hôtel de Caumont in Aix-en-Provence from 24 November 2017 to 11 March 2018, will present the Colombian master’s rich oeuvre from a unique perspective, which explores his artistic affinities with Pablo Picasso. Sixty works by Botero (oils, works on paper, and sculptures) will be complemented by twenty major works by Picasso, originating from the collections in the Musée National Picasso-Paris and the Museo Picasso in Barcelona.

Despite very different origins, lives, and careers, the two great artists share common geographical and cultural points of reference. In his youth, Fernando Botero (born in 1932) took an interest in the work of Pablo Picasso (1881–1973); he admired his rich palette and the monumentality and sensuality of the forms. But Botero particularly admired Picasso’s ‘nonconformism’ (sic). In both artists’ works, the distortion of the human body and volumes corresponds to a resolutely subjective view of reality. It also reflects a radically modern approach in the history of figurative art, which is at the root of each artist’s unique artistic language.

The respective careers of Botero and Picasso are characterised by a fundamental questioning of painting and art. At the Hôtel de Caumont, the exhibition ‘Botero, dialogue avec Picasso’ (‘Botero: a dialogue with Picasso’) provides an overview of the themes they tackled in their work, as visitors move from one room to the next :

- Portraits and self-portraits- The influences of the masters who preceded them in the history of art- Still lifes- Nudes- Representations of major historical and political events- Bullfighting- The world of the circus- Music and dance

HÔTEL DE CAUMONT - CENTRE D'ART, AIX-EN-PROVENCE

PRESS RELEASE

24 NOVEMBER 2017 - 11 MARCH 2018

Press release I Botero : a dialogue with Picasso I Hôtel de Caumont - Centre d’Art, Aix-en-Provence 5

Among the major works are Botero’s diptych After Piero della Francesca (1998), the monumental Pear (1976), Pierrot (2007), and La Fornarina, After Raphael (2008); and also The Acrobat (1930), The Village Dance (1922), and Massacre in Korea (1951) by Pablo Picasso, and his interpretation of Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1957).

In addition to the paintings, the exhibition will present several sculptures by Botero, including his imposing Horse (1999), and twenty drawings by the two artists. A medium that was widely used by the two artists, the drawings will enable visitors to discover a less well-known aspect of Botero’s oeuvre and a more personal side of his artistic work.

Designed and created by Culturespaces, and curated by Cecilia Braschi, the exhibition is part of the « Picasso-Méditerranée » project, initiated by the Musée National Picasso-Paris.

It is supported by the Société Marseillaise de Crédit.


THE EXHIBITION ITINERARY

ROOM 1 : BOTERO AND PICASSO: PORTRAITS AND SELF-PORTRAITS« I always work from my imagination, or from memory.

Everything that I paint stems from my imagination, even the portraits » Botero

The first exhibition room will present Botero’s biography, from his Colombian origins to his cosmopolitan life, while introducing the visitor to the theme of the exhibition: an imaginary dialogue between Botero and Picasso. A series of portraits and self-portraits will show their shared interest in the human figure, the way in which they represented themselves as artists, and the way in which Botero viewed the Spanish master.

ROOM 2 : COPIES OR INTERPRETATIONS ? THE ARTIST’S IMAGINARY MUSEUM« In a copy, the artist confines himself to looking closely at a work, whereas a “version” results

from admiration for a work from which the artist wishes to learn something, and at the same time prove that it is possible—in one’s own style—to create something different and personal.» Botero

A wide range of paintings will show Botero’s tributes to artists from every period in history. Some of them are artists that Picasso also studied, such as Velázquez, Ingres, and Cranach. In any case, they are not just copies but veritable interpretations of their work: in both artists’ works, an in-depth knowledge of the work of the masters who preceded them enabled them to develop their own unique artistic language.

ROOM 3 : THE QUEST FOR A STYLE: STILL LIFES« Very few contemporary artists paint still lifes. This may be because people want to see action;

they always want to see something happening, but in a still life there is nothing but painting, and that is exactly what I find so fascinating. » Botero

An exhibition room will be specifically devoted to still lifes—a timeless theme in the history of art that the two artists focused on and which enabled them to develop their own distinctive style. While Picasso produced works with no vanishing point through the decomposition of form, Botero abandoned proportions. The influence of classicism, particularly in the treatment of the volumes, is particularly marked in his work, in which the still lifes are sometimes monumental.

Fernando BoteroSelf-Portrait, 1998Oil on canvas Private collection © Fernando Botero / Photo : Christian Moutarde

Fernando BoteroPortrait of Picasso, 1998Oil on canvas Private collection © Fernando Botero / Photo : Christian Moutarde


Fernando BoteroWoman on the beach, 2002Pastel on canvas Private collection © Fernando Botero

ROOM 4 : THE NUDE, OR THE ART OF DISTILLING SENSUALITY« Painting has the power to convey sensuality. Someone said that painting should be edible,

that is to say fuel a desire to be eaten.» Botero

Like the still life, the female nude is a genre to which Botero has constantly and repeatedly returned throughout his career, particularly when he feels a need to replenish himself by respecting the fundamental values of painting. Like every other painter, he knows that the most commonplace forms (the human figure, a piece of fruit, etc.) are also the most difficult to understand and represent.

ROOM 5 : A FILM « BOTERO DIALOGUE AVEC PICASSO » (« BOTERO: A DIALOGUE WITH PICASSO »)A video room will present a unique interview with Botero, answering questions about his work and that of Picasso.

ROOM 6 : REPRESENTATIONS OF HISTORICAL EVENTS« Art does not have the power to produce social or political changes. However, it does have the power

to eternalise the memory of an event. Everyone knows about the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War because Picasso painted it. The same is true of the executions of 2 May, painted by Goya. Art produces enduring representations of events that remain in the collective memory.» Botero

Twentieth-century artists who witnessed the history of their respective countries, Botero and Picasso endeavoured to represent political and social events, including the most dramatic events. In both artists’ works, the theme of violence led to an extensive distortion of the faces and an explosion of forms. From the South-American dictatorships in the twentieth century to the street assassinations in Colombia and earthquakes, Botero is a witness of tragic events, who believes that he has a responsibility, as an artist, to be a man of his time. Botero also stated that «When one paints, one must use colour with great care and to best effect. It is to some extent an act of love. Painting transforms hate into love».


ROOM 7 : BULLS AND BULLFIGHTERS: A PASSION FOR BULLFIGHTING« I dared to paint bullfighting scenes because it is a theme that I knew well. The link was absolutely

necessary. Bullfighting was in my blood, it was part of my very life.» Botero

A sublimation of violence, the representation of bullfighting is one of Botero’s favourite themes, which became a veritable part of Western artistic tradition, thanks in particular to Picasso and his numerous representations. Hence, a large part of the exhibition will be devoted to paintings and drawings of bullfighters, picadors, dying bulls, and other bullfighting scenes.

ROOM 8 : ACROBATS AND TRAVELLING PERFORMERS: THE POETRY OF THE CIRCUS« The colours of the circus are very special. One can paint in whatever wild colours

one wants —they will always be appropriate.» Botero

Popular traditions are part of the cultural heritage of Botero and Picasso. Like bullfighting, several popular means of expression that originate in Hispanic and Colombian tradition drew the interest of the two artists: the circus and travelling shows. The colours of Botero’s travelling performers, the positions in which his acrobats are represented, and the melancholy of his Pierrots (clowns) are in many ways reminiscent of the many works that Picasso produced on these themes.

ROOM 9 : MUSIC, MAESTRO! DANCERS AND MUSICIANS« A country’s excesses, on festive occasions or in times of suffering, is expressed in these extreme

forms, taken to the point of exasperation and as far as they can go. That is why the musicians and small neighbourhood parties in my paintings are transposed into a superlative, poetic, and nostalgic view of a

world that has changed considerably.» Botero

Like Picasso, Botero combines scholarly and popular references in his work, but in no hierarchical order. Apparently ‘minor’ themes, such as street concerts, balls, and fairgrounds are enhanced in his characteristically large-format paintings, while attesting to a deep attachment to his origins and the archaic and popular imaginary world of Colombia.

Fernando Botero Circus Musicians, 2008Oil on canvas Private collection © Fernando Botero

Fernando Botero Pierrot, 2007Oil on canvas Private collection © Fernando Botero


KEY DATES IN FERNANDO BOTERO’S LIFE19 APRIL 1932 Fernando Botero Angulo is born in Medellín, in the province of Antioquia in Colombia.

1944 Introduced to bullfighting by his uncle, he goes to a school for trainee matadors. He learns how to draw and use watercolours by copying bullfighting posters, and subsequently by painting the areas around Medellín. He also discovers the European avant-garde artists, including Picasso, and the Mexican mura-lists (Orozco, Siqueiros, and Rivera).

1951He moves to Bogotá, where he holds his first personal exhibition at the Leo Matiz Gallery. He presents works inspired by Gauguin and Picasso’s Blue and Pink periods.

1952Thanks to the Second Prize for Painting that he receives at the Ninth Salon of Colombian Artists in Bo-gotá, Botero has the means to travel to Europe. He enrols at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. At the Museo Prado he admires the masterpieces of the great Spanish masters, such as Velázquez and Goya. He spends the summer in France. In Paris, he is disappointed by the small format of the paintings by Picasso in the Musée d’Art Moderne and prefers to spend his time studying the works of the old masters in the Louvre. However, a Picasso exhibition in Lyon reignites his interest in the artist.

1953 Botero leaves France for Italy, where he enrols in the Academia San Marco in Florence. For eighteen months, he studies the art of fresco painting and attends lectures by the art historian Roberto Longhi. In Arezzo, he enthusiastically discovers the paintings and frescoes by Piero della Francesca. He sub-sequently visits Siena, Venice, and Ravenna. He is passionately interested in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian art.

1955Botero returns to Colombia and marries Gloria Zea.

1956 The couple moves to Mexico, where their first son, Fernando, is born.The influence of Mexican art leads Botero to increase the size of the faces and figures in his work. The artist paints a Still Life with Mandolin and discovers the key to a new, very personal style, based on volu-minous motifs and exaggerated proportions.

1957 In April, Botero exhibits his works at the Pan American Union in Washington, in the United States. He goes to New York and discovers American Abstract Expressionism. The Gres Gallery in Washington pro-vides him with financial support.In May he returns to Bogotá in Colombia.

1958 His daughter Lina is born.Botero is appointed professor of painting at the Bogotá Academy of Art. He establishes himself as one of the most influential contemporary painters in the Colombian art scene.He participates in the Guggenheim International Award and the Venice Biennale.


1959 Botero paints a series of ten paintings after El Niño de Vallecas by Velázquez, in which the vigorous brushstrokes reflect the influence of American Abstract Expressionism.He represents Colombia at the Fifth São Paulo Biennale.

1960 His son Juan Carlos is born in Bogotá.His marriage to Gloria Zea is dissolved.

1961 The Museum of Modern Art in New York acquires his painting Mona Lisa at the Age of 12 (1959)

1964 Botero marries Cecilia Zambrano.

1966He holds his first exhibition in Germany, at the Kunsthalle in Baden-Baden.He holds his first exhibition in an American museum, at the Milwaukee Art Center.

1967-1968 Botero spends his time between Colombia, New York, and Europe.

1969 His first exhibition in Paris is held at the Galerie Claude Bernard.

1970 His third son, Pedro, is born in New York.

1973 Botero settles in Paris. He produces his first sculptures.

1974 His four-year-old son Pedro dies in a car accident.

1975 Botero divorces Cecilia Zambrano.

1976 He increasingly devotes himself to sculpture and produces a series of twenty-five works on various the-mes.He marries Sophia Vari, a Greek artist.

1977 He produces the « Las Meninas » series, inspired by the painting of the same name by Velázquez (1656).

1979-1981 May retrospectives are held in the United States, Europe, and Japan.


1983The Metropolitan Museum in New York acquires his painting Dance in Colombia (1980).Botero settles in Pietrasanta, in Tuscany, where he devotes himself to sculpture for several months every year.

1984 Botero gives eighteen paintings to the National Museum in Bogotá.He decides to devote himself almost exclusively, for a period of two years, to the theme of bullfighting.

1985 The Marlborough Gallery in New York exhibits twenty-five works on the theme of bullfighting.

1987-1994 Many retrospectives are held throughout the world (Madrid, Caracas, Tokyo, Paris, Milan, Martigny, etc.).

1994 Botero narrowly escapes a kidnapping attempt in Bogotá.

1995 A terrorist attack in Medellín leaves twenty-three people dead and partly destroys a monumental bronze by the artist, entitled Bird. Botero offers the city a second sculpture representing a dove, a symbol of peace.

1999 Botero is the first living artist to exhibit his works in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

2000 Botero gives his extensive collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century works of art to the cities of Medellín and Bogotá.

2005 Botero produces a series of works denouncing the abusive treatment of the prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq.

2005-2017Many exhibitions of the artist’s work are held in major museums throughout the world: Rome, Cologne, Milan, Berlin, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Vienna, Bilbao, Miami, and so on.

Botero currently lives and works between Paris, Monte-Carlo, Pietrasanta, and New York.


EXTRACTS OF AN INTERVIEW WITH FERNANDO BOTEROINTERVIEWED BY CECILIA BRASCHICecilia Braschi : Fernando Botero, let’s start with the beginning of your career: how did you become an artist ?

Fernando Botero : Actually, I began painting thanks to the bulls. When I was thirteen or fourteen, I dreamed of being a torero, and I went to school where I learnt ‘living-room bullfighting’, that is to say without a live bull. I had a great admiration for the world of the corrida and, at the school, I spent my time drawing bulls and toreros. That was my introduction to drawing, I think. That’s how I began to draw and paint. I have subsequently continually returned to the theme of bulls in my work. In fact, I’m passionately interested in the corrida and it is therefore a theme that is constantly present in my work.

CB : Were there any artists in your family or among your friends? Are you the son of an artist, like Picasso ?

FB : I would have loved to have a father who was an artist; it would have made things a lot easier. No, there were no artists in my family, and the milieu in Medellín wasn’t conducive to the development of a career as a painter, because there were no museums, galleries, or collectors.But I went in search of the artists in the city; I began to frequent the café where they met up, so that I could listen to them talking about painting. One day, I bought my own set of watercolours and some paper and I went with them to paint landscapes around Medellín. It was then that I knew I wanted to be an artist. I wasn’t drawing corridas any more, I was producing art. My passion for painting became so consuming that I left the school at the age of eighteen to devote myself entirely to painting. At the age of nineteen, I held my first personal exhibition in Bogotá. I have been very fortunate to be able to make a living from painting throughout my life. I was poor—actually, very poor—at the beginning of my career, but I never needed to do anything else in order to make a living.

CB : How did you become acquainted with Picasso’s work in that particular context ?

FB : Picasso’s name was of course known in Medellín, as it is everywhere else. However, the most ‘fashionable’—or at least the most ‘contemporary’—movement was Mexican muralism: Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros. The artists whom I knew in Medellín only talked about Mexican art, public art, and mass art. It was a very romantic movement; all the artists wanted people to participate in a political reform that transcended art. I think that Picasso was too intellectual for them. I really liked Picasso’s work, even though I didn’t really understand it very well at the time. Still, I wrote an article about Picasso in a local journal, called El Colombiano. I don’t know whether what I wrote in the article was understood or not, but I do know that the school’s director, a priest, did not at all appreciate the fact that I quoted a sentence form a communist leader in the article. I was expelled from the school because of that.

CB : In what way, exactly, were you fascinated by Picasso’s work when you were a student ?

FB : My admiration for Picasso stems, on the one hand, from the Picasso phenomenon itself: his ability to transform all the styles and his tremendous influence on world culture. On the other hand, I was impressed by his paintings. Depending on the period in my life, the level of my training, and my state of mind, I was impressed by different aspects of his work. The first thing I did was to draw inspiration from his Blue and Pink periods. At the time, I was creating very voluminous works, with very full forms. When I discovered Picasso’s Blue and Pink periods, I began to paint stylised figures and, for several months, I adopted that approach.

CB : What happened after that ?

FB : I subsequently realised that it wasn’t the right path for me to pursue, but Picasso’s influence was important at that stage of my career. And subsequently, throughout my life, I have been very interested


in Picasso’s work because he was the greatest artist in the twentieth century and all his periods are important. However, I don’t much like his last period—it’s too ‘chaotic’. What I like most is Picasso’s work up to Guernica; I find it fascinating.

CB : And then, you were able to view the works directly in Europe…

FB : When I arrived in Paris, in 1952, I headed to the Musée d’Art Moderne to see Picasso’s works. I had initially gone to Spain to see them, but, in Franco’s time, there were no Picassos anywhere. I have to admit that I was bewildered and disappointed by his works, when I actually saw them, in particular because of their small format. I was more interested in the Egyptian and Assyrian art in the French museums; I found it to be particularly impressive and incredibly powerful. Subsequently, on my way to Italy and quite by chance, I came across a major Picasso exhibition at the museum in Lyon. The excellent selection of works reignited my admiration for Picasso.

CB : And that’s when you decided to go and meet the artist ?

FB : Yes, that’s right. I travelled with a friend and said to him: ‘Let’s go and see Picasso. He lives in Vallauris’. We left straight away. When we arrived at Vallauris, we knocked on the door. An old man opened the door and we said to him: ‘Hello, we’d like to see Picasso’. Somewhat surprised, he asked us whether we had made an appointment; he explained to us that Picasso did not see anyone without an appointment. So we went to the local café and we asked whether Picasso sometimes went there. The waiter replied that he went there every day and that we could wait for him. We sat there waiting for Picasso, but he didn’t come to the café. Someone told us: ‘He sometimes goes out and goes to the beach at Juan-les-Pins’. We went to the beach, but Picasso wasn’t there either. It was the only opportunity I had to meet Picasso, and the only time in my life when I tried to meet an artist, but I will always be frustrated by the fact that I never got to meet Picasso in person.

CB : You have, however, produced more than one portrait of Picasso: were they painted after photographs ?

FB : I always work from my imagination, or from memory. Everything that I paint comes from my imagination, even the portraits. I’ve probably looked at a photo of Picasso, even though I know his face, but I’ve never painted from a photo. I rarely base my work on photographs because I’d find it very restrictive. It’s very difficult to capture a likeness and transform it at the same time, and working with a photo would limit the freedom I require to paint.

CB : As attested by the works in this exhibition, your paintings contain a certain number of themes that could be described as ‘Picassoesque’, such as still lifes, nudes, circuses, and the corrida.

FB : That’s true, because these are major themes in the history of painting, and Picasso was inspired by a long tradition. Picasso essentially succeeded in translating all the movements that had existed before him, and he had an extraordinary talent and capacity for transforming them. That was the key to his success. Because, what’s truly important in art is not the theme but the style. Developing one’s own conception of reality, and what surrounds us, is what makes an artist creative. Of course, I’m very familiar with Picasso’s representations of corridas because I’ve studied every period of his oeuvre. This relation is even highly visible in one of my pictures, in which the toreador is struck by the bull. This is a theme I’ve tackled several times but in this painting my admiration for Picasso’s La Corrida is particularly evident. The painting is ‘Picassoesque’ in a certain way, but at the same time it isn’t, because even though the theme is the same, the style is very different. As I said, if an artist only ever copied others, he or she would no longer be creative. An artist has to ‘correct’ the painting, so to speak. No artists can be in complete accord with the work of another artist, and one is always slightly critical, even with regard to the work of the greatest artists. So, Picasso represented his corridas, and I have done my own versions.


CB : The ability to transform and create something personal, based on common subjects that you admire in Picasso’s oeuvre, is also what you are pursuing when you copy the great artists of the past. This a pictorial exercise that Picasso practised before you.

FB : Indeed, the desire to learn from others by creating one’s own ‘versions’ is a longstanding tradition in painting. In a copy, the artist confines himself to looking closely at a work, whereas a “version” results from admiration for a work from which the artist wishes to learn something, and at the same time prove that it is possible—in one’s own style—to create something different and personal. Picasso created many versions and, before him, Van Gogh, and Rubens, and, in fact all the artists since the Renaissance. All the great masters had a coherent style. It’s possible to identify a painting executed by any great artist by closely observing a finger or a hand, because there is great conviction even in these small elements. This means that the painting is not a copy but an original work.

CB : Some of your « versions » that feature in this exhibition were inspired by artists whom Picasso also admired, such as Cranach, Ingres, and Velázquez.

FB: I’ve admired the work of many artists during my career, and each of these sources of inspiration has left its mark on my work. Obviously, I’ve been a great admirer of Velázquez, all my life, like Picasso. In the work of Velázquez, there’s a sense of facility and a sensual touch that I have sometimes tried to attain. I did do several versions of Las Meninas. Picasso focused more on the composition of the picture, while I created several pictures with a single figure. Cranach’s works have a satirical aspect, a clever quality that is very attractive, and very special. And I really love Ingres’ masterly drawings, even if sometimes there’s an academic side to his work that I find slightly disconcerting.

CB : Yes, but the most significant influence on your work seems to be Italian painting.

FB : Yes, I love the entire Renaissance period, and above all the Quattrocento: Giotto, Paolo Uccello, and Piero della Francesca in particular. Giotto invented three-dimensional representation, the miracle that creates the sensation that a volume exists on a flat surface. Today, there is nothing particularly extraordinary about this, but at the time, it was an incredible revolution, which added mystery and complexity to painting. I attempt to create volumes solely by lines that enclose colours, as did the painters of the Quattrocento.There is an impassiveness in the faces I paint because I’m a great admirer of ancient Egyptian art and the work of Piero della Francesca. In his paintings a head is treated like any other object, and he never painted a smile or an expression of pain. Even in his battle scenes, the faces have an extraordinary impassiveness, a poetic and profound mystery. That’s why I too try to paint impassive faces that resemble any other object.

CB : Painting a head as though it were any object was an idea that fascinated other artists, such as Cézanne and Giacometti who, like you, learned a great deal from working on still lifes. There is another major pictorial traditional that features in your oeuvre. The bodegones (still lifes) of Luis Meléndez, Sánchez Cotán, and Zurbarán, lead us, once again, to Picasso.

FB : The still life was one of the favourite themes of Picasso, above all during his cubist period. It’s strange that today no one is really interested in still lifes. Very few contemporary artists paint still lifes. This may be because people want to see action; they always want to see something happening, but in a still life there is nothing but painting, and that is exactly what I find so fascinating. I have always loved still lifes and have painted many of them, in my own way. When people tell me: ‘You’re the painter of fat ladies’, I always reply ‘That’s not entirely true, take a look at my still lifes’. In my still lifes the forms and volumes are deformed and exaggerated, as in my representations of the human figure.


CB : One could say that while Picasso revolutionised the genre, during his cubist phase, you in turn, transformed it in your own way by painting, for example, giant bouquets of flowers, and monumental pears and oranges. This ‘minor’ genre, which is normally adapted to small-format works, takes on entirely different proportions in your work.

FB : Well, in fact, I didn’t do it in order to revolutionise the genre. I wanted to create works in which the forms were very full and large, because it was a way of expressing greater sensuality. Hence, the size of an orange or a pear was increased to make them even more of an orange or a pear, thanks to the quantity. In short, I was trying to intensify the existence of an object through its volume. It’s true that, generally speaking, still lifes are not large-format works. But I really enjoyed painting these giant bouquets of flowers, and anyway, because each bouquet contained more than 500 flowers it would have been impossible to paint them in a small format.

CB : What’s the connection between your still lifes and Picasso’s ?

FB : Picasso focused on deconstructing form, whereas I do the very opposite: I attempt to construct. It’s fascinating to see what Picasso did with the guitar, for example. He took the instrument and eliminated the idea of sculpture in terms of its volume. He represented different planes that formed the space and the guitar, although in reality the latter is no longer there because it’s lacking its three dimensional aspects. In contrast, I sculpted a guitar and placed the emphasis on its volume. My bronze sculpture in the Medellin Museum is an ‘anti-Picasso’ or ‘counter-Picasso’ guitar, because I focused on its mass and three-dimensional characteristics. This sums up my approach compared with Picasso: one of great admiration mixed with an attitude of revolt against the father, so to speak.

CB : Are the musical instruments that often feature in your works, as in Picasso’s, connected with a passion for music ?

FB : I’ve painted many musical instruments, but if you look closely, my guitars don’t have any strings and they can’t be played. Because, what I’m interested in with a guitar, a clarinet, or a violin is its shape and only the shape. I also make music, like everyone else, but I never listen to music while I’m painting. I don’t think Picasso did either. I’ve heard that other artists did so, like Chagall, for example, but I consider Picasso to be a ‘plastic’ rather than ‘musical’ man.

CB : In New York, you frequented the Abstract Expressionist artists, but even if this influence can be seen in some of your works dating from the 1960s, your painting has always remained decidedly figurative. Could you clarify your position with regard to this ?

FB : I’ve never created an abstract work, because I see a painting as being an equilibrium between decorative and expressive values and I believe that abstract painting lacks the latter element, which is expressive, emotive, and poetic, however one might describe it. I think that art must have a slightly disturbing quality to embed it in people’s minds.

CB : Is this desire also reflected in the arbitrary proportions that are typical of your paintings ? To what do you attribute the compositional freedom that means, for example, that you introduce very small elements alongside very imposing figures ?

FB : The fact is that on the canvas one creates a composition on a two-dimensional plane. As one creates the two dimensions, the third dimension emerges. But this equilibrium between the flat forms of the picture is very important and that’s why the details, even the smallest of them, can be painted on a large scale. This freedom is important. If you look at the paintings of the Quattrocento, you will sometimes spot a really small bishop next to the Virgin, or the same bishop on a very large scale next to a tiny cathedral. The freedom to use different proportions has always fascinated me and I see it as very poetic.


CB : You also share with Picasso the conviction of being, as an artist, a man of your times. However, this is evident in your works in a very different way. What, in your opinion, is the relation between art and history ? Do your works reflect your political leanings ?

FB : They do reflect my political stance, but they are primarily inspired by a desire to represent life as it is, from every angle, that is to say not only its pleasant side but also its more dramatic aspects. During the 1960s, I painted dictators and military juntas in a critical fashion; more recently, I created a series of works on the tortures in the Abu Ghraib prison, in Iraq. It was an event that provoked international outrage and I felt that I needed to pictorially represent the subject.

CB : Yet, even with these very violent and brutal themes your painting is still very carefully finished and polished. This contrast is even more striking when the themes depicted are murder, dictators, and earthquakes.

FB : I like to carefully finish the surfaces in my paintings, and that’s not the case, for example, with a painter like Orozco, who expresses his hate and repulsion via a more aggressive pictorial treatment. I see things differently: I feel that I should be faithful to painting and my way of conceiving it. This tends to limit the sense of drama. Even if the sketch deals with violence and hate, the painting should then be more controlled and have compositional equilibrium. Because a painting is like a caress; one can represent a subject of great violence, with the aversion one feels, and end up flattering a dictator, so to speak.

8 December 2016, Monte-Carlo


THE GUIDED TOUR FOR IPHONE/IPAD AND ANDROIDThis application, which is available in French and English, includes a presentation video of the exhibition—a selection of twenty works with explanations and practical information. The variety of the content (video, audio, and images) and the fluid browsing, thanks to the ‘cover flow’ presentation, make it an indispensable tool for an in–depth visit of the exhibition. With the iPad, visitors can experience a high-definition visit with an exceptionally high zoom factor.

The HD application costs €2.99

THE AUDIO GUIDEAn audio guide with a selection of major works is available in two languages (French and English) and costs €3.

THE TOUR LEAFLETIn French and English, this tour leaflet contains the exhibition itinerary, as well as the artist’s biography.

Price of the booklet: €1

THE ACTIVITY BOOK FOR YOUNG CHILDRENGiven freely to each child (7–12 years old) who visits the exhibition, this activity book provides a guide that enables youngsters to observe, in an entertaining way, the major works in the exhibition by solving various puzzles.

THE CATALOGUEThere is a 192-page catalogue, comprising more than 100 illustrations, published by Éditions Citadelles and Mazenod.

On sale for €29 in the cultural gift shop and on: www.boutique-culturespaces.com

A SPECIAL EDITION OF CONNAISSANCE DES ARTSOpening with an interview with Fernando Botero, the special edition of Connaissance des Arts explores all the themes in his oeuvre, which is compared with that of Picasso.

On sale in the cultural gift shop for €9.50 and available online: www.boutique-culturespaces.com

AROUND THE EXHIBITION


IMAGES AVAILABLE FOR THE PRESS

1 | Fernando Botero, Self-Portrait, 1998, oil on canvas, 92,7 x 81,28 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero / Photo :

Christian Moutarde

2 | Fernando Botero, Woman on the Beach, 2002, pastel on canvas, 69 x 104 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

3 | Fernando Botero, Portrait of Picasso, 1998, oil on canvas, 187 x 128 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero / Photo :

Christian Moutarde

4 | Pablo Picasso, Family at the Seashore, Dinard, summer 1922, oil on wood, 17,6 x 20,2, Musée national Picasso-Paris,

donated by Pablo Picasso 1979 © Succession Picasso 2017 © Photo : RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-Paris) /

Mathieu Rabeau

4

1 2

3

The mention © Succession Picasso 2017 is obligatory for any reproduction of Picasso’s images. It is strictly forbidden to reframe, cut, superimpose, or alter reproductions of Pablo Picasso’s works. This applies to the following images: nos. 4, 5, 6, 10, 15, 17, 21, and 24. If you wish to reproduce an image in a format larger than 1/4 of a page, please contact Elodie de Almeida Satan: [email protected]


5 | Pablo Picasso, Las Meninas [Isabel de Velasco, María Barbola et Nicolasito Pertusato], Cannes, 24 october 1957, oil on can-

vas, 130 x 96 cm, Museu Picasso, Barcelone, donated by Pablo Picasso, 1968 © Succession Picasso 2017 © Photo : Museu

Picasso, Barcelona / Gasull Fotografia

6 | Pablo Picasso, Portrait of a Woman, after Cranach the Younger, Cannes, 4 july 1958, engraving, 64 x 53,5 cm, Museu

Picasso, Barcelone © Succession Picasso 2017, donated by Jaume Sabartés, 1962 © Photo : Museu Picasso, Barcelona /

Gasull Fotografia

7 | Fernando Botero, After Cranach, 2016, oil on canvas, 172 x 140 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

8 et 9 | Fernando Botero, After Piero Della Francesca (diptych), 1998, oil on canvas, each panel measures 204 x 177 cm,

private collection © Fernando Botero

7

8

5 6

9


10 11

10 | Pablo Picasso, The Couple, Mougin, 30 octobre 1967, oil on canvas, 113,5 x 145,5 cm, Paris, Musée national Picasso-Pa-

ris, donated by Jacqueline Picasso, 1990 © Succession Picasso 2017 © Photo : RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-

Paris) / Mathieu Rabeau

11 | Fernando Botero, Ballerina at the Bar, 2001, oil on canvas, 164 x 116 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

12 | Fernando Botero, Flying Trapeze, 2007, pencil on paper, 30 x 40 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

13 | Fernando Botero, The Bathroom, 1989, oil on canvas, 249 x 205 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

12 13


14 | Fernando Botero, Pear, 1976, oil on canvas, 241 x 196 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

15 | Pablo PIcasso, The Acrobat, Paris, 18 january 1930, oil on canvas, 162 x 130 cm, Musée national Picasso-Paris, Dation

Pablo Picasso, 1979 © Succession Picasso 2017 © Photo : RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-Paris) / René-Gabriel

Ojéda

16 | Fernando Botero, Still Life With Violin, 2002, pencil and ink on paper, 37 x 30 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

17 | Pablo Picasso, Musicien, Mougin, 26 may 1972, oil on canvas, 194,5 x 129,5 cm Musée national Picasso-Paris, Dation

Pablo Picasso 1979 © Succession Picasso 2017 © Photo : RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-Paris) / Jean-Gilles

Berizzi

14 15

16 17


18 | Fernando Botero, The Musician, 2008, oil on canvas, 178 x 100 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

19 | Fernando Botero, Pierrot, 2007, oil on canvas, 137 x 99 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

20 | Fernando Botero, Dancers, 2002, pastel on paper, 142 x 118 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

21 | Pablo Picasso, The Village Dance, Paris, 1922, fixed pastel and oil on canvas, 139,5 x 85,5 cm, Musée national Picasso-

Paris, Dation Pablo Picasso, 1979 © Succession Picasso 2017 © Photo : RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-Paris) /

Mathieu Rabeau

18 19

20 21


22 | Fernando Botero, The Président, 1989, oil on canvas, 203 x 165 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

23 | Fernando Botero, The First Lady, 1989, oil on canvas, 203 x 165 cm, private collection © Fernando Botero

24 | Pablo Picasso, Massacre in Corea, Vallauris,18 january 1951, oil on plywood, 110 x 210 cm, Musée national Picasso-

Paris, Dation Pablo Picasso, 1979 © Succession Picasso 2017 © Photo : RMN-Grand Palais (Musée national Picasso-Paris) /

Jean-Gilles Berizzi

22

24

23


CURATORSHIPCecilia Braschi is an art historian specialising in twentieth-century art in Europe and Latin America. She works in the Musée d’Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou and at the Fondation Giacometti (Paris), as an exhibition assistant, research manager, and assistant curator. As such, she has published many studies and acted as assistant curator for major retrospective exhibitions held in France and abroad between 2001 and 2014 (at the Centre Pompidou, the Kunsthall in Rotterdam, the Museo Picasso in Malaga, the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, and the PROA Foundation in Buenos Aires). Working in Culturespaces since 2015, she has been responsible for the exhibitions held in the Hôtel de Caumont Art Centre, in Aix-en-Provence.

SCENOGRAPHYLaurence Fontaine created the scenography. Since 1993, the architect and scenographer has been working on many projects. The most recent of these include, in 2017: « David Hockney » in the Centre Pompidou, « Ed Van der Elsken » at the Jeu de Paume, « Robert Doisneau. Les Années Vogue » in the Espace Richaud, Versailles, and « Jardins » in the Galeries Nationales of the Grand Palais.

THE TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ARTISTIC PROJECT


PICASSO-MÉDITERRANÉE : AN INITIATIVE FROM MUSÉE NATIONAL PICASSO-PARIS

“Picasso-Méditerranée” is an international cultural event which will be held from Spring 2017 through to Spring 2019. Over sixty cultural institutions have come together to conjure up a programme around the work « obstinément méditerranéenne » of Pablo Picasso. Initiated by the Musée national Picasso-Paris, this journey into the creation of the artist and across the places which inspired him, aims at strengthening ties between all the shores.

Pablo Picasso The Pipes of PanAntibes, summer 1923 Oil on canvas (205x174cm) Musée national Picasso-ParisDation Pablo Picasso, 1979 MP79 © RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Gilles Berizzi © Succession Picasso 2017

With the exceptional support of the Musée National Picasso-Paris


LA SOCIÉTÉ MARSEILLAISE DE CRÉDITSPONSOR OF THE EXHIBITION

Permanently associated with the Groupe Crédit du Nord, the Bank is continuing—from Béziers to Menton, via its network of 159 agencies—a tradition based on relational proximity, expertise, and innovation that caters for 377,000 private and business clients.

For more than 150 years, the Société Marseillaise de Crédit has continued its long tradition as a sponsor and striven to promote its region by supporting many economic, cultural, and sports initiatives in the region.

The Société Marseillaise de Crédit is pleased to be able to pursue its commitment to the Hôtel de Caumont Art Centre, for which it has been a Founding Sponsor since the Centre opened in May 2015. The Bank supported, in particular, the inaugural exhibition devoted to Canaletto in September 2015.

As a Founding Member of the Cercle Caumont, the SMC is proud to support the promotion of the activities in the Art Centre and, in particular, the production of the exhibition « Botero, dialogue avec Picasso » (« Botero: a Dialogue with Picasso »).


PARTNERS OF THE EXHIBITION

www.francebleu.fr/provence

www.20minutes.fr/ www.lefigaro.fr

www.franceculture.fr/

http://www.fnac.com/

https://www.arte.tv/fr/www.lejournaldesarts.fr


With 25 years of experience and more than 2,7 millions visitors every year, Culturespaces is the leading private organisation managing French monuments and museums, and one of the leading European players in cultural tourism.

Culturespaces produces and manages, with an ethical and professional approach, monuments, museums and prestigious historic sites entrusted to it by public bodies and local authorities.

Are managed by Culturespaces :

- Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris (since 1996)- Musée Maillol, Paris (since 2016)- Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (since 1992)- Hôtel de Caumont - Centre d’Art, Aix-en-Provence (since 2015)- Carrières de Lumières , Baux-de-Provence (since 2012)- Château des Baux-de-Provence (since 1993)- Roman Theatre and Art and History Museum of Orange (since 2002)- Nîmes Amphitheatre, the Square House, the Magne Tower (since 2006)- Cité de l’Automobile, Mulhouse (since 1999)

More generally, Culturespaces is responsible for upgrading spaces and collections, welcoming the general public, managing staff and all services, organising cultural activities and temporary exhibitions and promoting sites at national and international levels, with efficient and responsible management methods certified ISO 9001.

CULTURESPACES, THE LEADING CULTURAL ACTOR IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE

For over 20 years, Culturespaces has forged ties with important cultural institutions and tourist bodies in the regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Occitanie. Making use of its local insight and knowledge, Culturespaces has organized many large-scale cultural projects that have had an impact both in terms of local employment and the renown of certain sites.

In 2016, over 2 millions visitors were welcomed at the various sites overseen by Culturespaces in the south. The acquisition of the Hôtel de Caumont has allowed Culturespaces to further reinforce its presence and role as a cultural actor in the region.

TRANSMISSION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

Aware that our heritage must be preserved for future generations, Culturespaces contributes every year to financing restoration programmes for the monuments and collections it has been entrusted to look after. « Our aim is to help public institutions present their heritage and develop their reputation in cultural circles and among tourists. We also aim to make access to culture more democratic and help our children discover our history and our civilisation in remarkable cultural sites », explains Bruno Monnier, CEO and Founder of Culturespaces.

More information on www.culturespaces.com.

CULTURESPACES, PRODUCER OF THE EXHIBITION AND OWNER OF THE HÔTEL DE CAUMONT - CENTRE D’ART


THE HÔTEL DE CAUMONT- CENTRE D’ART IN AIX-EN-PROVENCE

A CULTURAL INSTITUTION, A MISSION OF PUBLIC INTERESTClassed as a historical monument, the Hôtel de Caumont is one of the most beautiful private mansions dating from the 18th century in Aix-en-Provence. Situated close to the Cours Mirabeau, in the Mazarin district, the mansion was recently fully restored, and has been home to an art centre since May 2015.

Its aim is to present two temporary art exhibitions per year, devoted to the great names in the history of art, ranging from classical to contemporary art. Reproducing the atmosphere and aesthetic features of an 18th-century private mansion, the Caumont Centre d’Art plays a key role in the cultural life of Aix: it is a place where visitors can discover and enjoy a passion for art.

CEZANNE AU PAYS D’AIX [CEZANNE IN THE REGION OF AIX]This twenty-minute film is broadcast every day in the auditorium and presents the life and career of this illustrious Impressionist painter, a precursor to Cubism, as well as his passion for Aix-en-Provence and its surrounding region, through the key events that shaped his life and his artistic creation.

CONFERENCES, CONCERTS AND PERFORMANCESThe Hôtel de Caumont - Centre d’Art is a space of exchange and dialogue between the different types of artistic expression. In this capacity, it welcomes exhibitions and artists, dance performances and concerts, as well as readings and conferences in an attempt to broaden artistic horizons.

THE CAFÉ CAUMONTLocated in the historic drawing rooms of the ground floor, with their beautiful terrace overlooking the gardens, the Café Caumont is the ideal setting for a quiet lunch, brunch or afternoon tea. The café is an elegant venue at the heart of the Mazarin district. Lounge evenings are proposed.

© S. Lloyd


"DISCOVERING THE DAILY LIFE OF CHILDREN IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY" WITH THE CULTURESPACES FOUNDATION

The Fondation DENIBAM (under the aegis of the ANBER Foundation) implements initiatives that contribute to the restructuring and consolidation of families and society in France and abroad, particularly in the fields of education, employment, culture, health, and assistance to persons in difficult situations.

The ENGIE Corporate Foundation supports actions that promote solidarity in line with the Group’s commitment to ‘assist people’. The corporate foundation is involved in projects that promote the education of the younger generations and enable as many young people as possible to gain access to cultural events.

SEMEPA, a company actively involved in the Culturespaces Foundation’s initiatives, decided to support the Foundation in developing the programme « A la découverte de de la vie quotidienne des enfants au XVIIIe siècle » (« Discovering the Daily Life of Children in the Eigtheenth Century ») in the Pays d’Aix.

Press contactEva Dalla Venezia

Tel : 01 56 59 92 57 [email protected]

www.fondation-culturespaces.com

network and social organisations to take part in a project entitled: « A la découverte de la vie quotidienne des enfants au XVIIIe siècle » (« Discovering the daily life of children in the eighteenth century »). This is an entertaining and instructional initiative that specifically caters for children aged 6 to 11 and enables them to discover the Hôtel Caumont. The Culturespaces Foundation will thereby enable the youngsters to immerse themselves in the everyday lives of eighteenth-century children.

The children are invited to take part in the two phases of the project:

1. An animation within the social organisation or school with one of the Foundation’s cultural mediators. Daily life in the Hôtel Caumont is represented using games, music, images, and entertaining instructional tools. Duration: 1h30

2. A participative guided tour of the Hôtel Caumont in the form of a treasure hunt, in which the children will have to solve enigmas in the building. Duration: 1h30

In 2017, the Foundation will offer 1,000 children from the Bouches-du-Rhône region a chance to take part in the project. Participation in the project is entirely free—only the transportation is paid by the organisa-tions. Register online: www.fondation-culturespaces.com/fr/decouverte-hotel-caumont THE CULTURESPACES FOUNDATIONUnder the aegis of the Fondation Agir Contre l’Exclusion (a foundation that combats social exclusion), recognised as being of public utility, the Culturespaces Foundation, established in 2009, aims to promote access to the arts and heritage for children who are hospitalised, handicapped, or made vulnerable by poverty or social exclusion. Convinced that the discovery of historic monuments and museums is an ex-cellent way of promoting access to culture, the Culturespaces Foundation specialises in creating custo-mised educational initiatives before, during, and after visits. In 2016, more than 3,000 children benefitted from programmes on various cultural sites.

The Culturespaces Foundation would like to thank the project’s sponsors :


PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Caumont Centre d’Art facebook.com/CaumontCentredArt

@Caumont_Aix https://twitter.com/Caumont_Aix

@caumontcentredart https://instagram.com/caumontcentredart

ACCESSHôtel de Caumont-Centre d’Art 3, rue Joseph Cabassol 13100 Aix-en-Provence Tél. : 04.42.20.70.01 www.caumont-centredart.com

OPENING TIMESOpen every day.From May to September : 10 am - 7 pm From October to April : 10 am - 6 pm

Late night opening on Friday until 9.30 pm

Last entrance 30 minutes before closing.

RATES Hôtel de Caumont-Centre d’Art + temporary exhibition: 14 € full rate / 10 € reduced rate. Exhibition audioguide: 3 € Reduced rate for children aged 7-17, Education Pass holders, students, disability card holders and unemployed (on presentation of written proof). Free for children under the age of 7 and journalists (on presentation of written proof).

Group visit from 15 people (reservation) Contact : [email protected]

Application for smartphones to discover the Hôtel de Caumont-Centre d’Art : free.

PRESS CONTACT Claudine Colin Communication T. +33 (0)1 42 72 60 01 Christelle Maureau [email protected]

"DISCOVERING THE DAILY LIFE OF CHILDREN IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY" WITH THE CULTURESPACES FOUNDATION

3, rue Joseph Cabassol13100 Aix-en-ProvenceT. +33 (0)4 42 20 70 01www.caumont-centredart.comOpen everydayfrom 10 am to 6 pm (october-april)from 10 am to 7 pm (may-september) CONTACT PRESSEClaudine Colin CommunicationChristelle [email protected]. +33 (0)1 42 72 60 01 www.claudinecolin.com

With the exceptional support of the Musée National Picasso-Paris

With the support of

Documents

24 NOVEMBER 2017 11 MARCH 2018 - Portail Culturespacesculturespaces.com/sites/ceportail/files/dp_botero_uk_0.pdf · 2017. 10. 25. · Fernando Botero Angulo is born in Medellín,