Colombian artist Fernando Botero is preparing his paintings of Jesus Christ for a New York exhibition, reported Spanish news agency EFE from an interview with Colombian radio Caracol.
Botero has returned to his of hometown of Medellin, Colombia to finish painting the “Via Crucis de Jesus,” a collection containing more than 30 pieces on the classic subject, which will be shown in New York City in November.
“I have spent four or five months painting the ‘Via Crucis’,” the artist told the radio station.
Botero, who is known for painting and sculpting dramatically rotund figures, has indeed been painting Jesus in his signature style.
The characterization does not have a satirical aspect, he explained Caracol, and the theme will be treated with “great respect.”
Botero told the radio station that he does not know how many more works he will paint in the series, but acknowledged that he has become “obsessed” with the subject, like so many painters before him.
The artist was born in Medellin in 1938 and has achieved international acclaim for his paintings, drawings and sculptures.
