Hundreds of people paid their last respects to Fernando Botero in his hometown of Medellín on Tuesday, the final stop in a memorial service for one of the most important Latin American artists of the 20th century before he is buried in Italy.
The coffin arrived in the Colombian city in a black car and was greeted by army soldiers in Plaza Botero next to the Antioquia Museum, which houses hundreds of paintings and sculptures donated by the artist to the city.
Three days of mourning in memory of the artist began in Medellín (northwest) before his remains were buried alongside his wife, the Greek artist Sophia Vari, in Pietrasan in northern Italy Pietrasanta, who died in May.
The first day of vigils was attended by local authorities, such as Medellín Mayor Daniel Quintero and Antioquia Governor Aníbal Gaviria.
“Botero forever!” a woman in her 60s, dressed in black and draped in a Colombian flag, cheered again and again as she watched the event from behind a security fence.
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Hundreds of admirers gave a long round of applause as the funeral procession made its way to the museum.
The renowned master of volume, one of the most popular artists of the past 40 years, died of pneumonia in Monaco on September 15 at the age of 91.
The body will remain at the Antioquia Museum on Tuesday and Wednesday. The artist’s body will be cremated on Thursday after a ceremony at Medellin’s Metropolitan Cathedral before being transported to Italy.
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Botero’s creations, most of which feature sensual and slightly surreal forms, have been auctioned for up to $4.3 million in the world’s most prestigious galleries.
In Colombia, he donated dozens of works to museums and parks in an attempt to bring art to the masses. He has exhibited these works around the world in cities such as Madrid, Paris, Barcelona, Singapore and Venice.
VD/LV/DGA