• Arte Botero: 'I haven't painted a fat one in my life'

The Greek painter and sculptor Sophia Vari, wife of the Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, died in Monaco at the age of 83, cultural sources reported Friday who lamented the death of the artist who had Colombian nationality.

"It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the death of Fernando Botero's artist, wife and great love, Sophia Vari, who passed away today at the age of 83. Our condolences to the Master, his family and friends," said the cultural network of the Bank of the Republic.

Find out more

The final interview.

Fernando Botero: "Banksy is not art: it is a fair, a fun"

  • Writing: LUIS ALEMANY

Fernando Botero: "Banksy is not art: it is a fair, a fun"

Senate.

Paco Ojeda, Canal Toros, Sánchez Dragó and Fernando Botero, parliamentary bullfighting awards 2022

  • Writing: EP Madrid

Paco Ojeda, Canal Toros, Sánchez Dragó and Fernando Botero, parliamentary bullfighting awards 2022

Vari, who was born in 1940, focused his artistic work on painting, monumental sculpture and collages in three dimensions and "his work has been recognized in the trend of modern classical sculpture."

The network recalled that in the collection of the Botero Museum in Bogotá it has the sculpture Doble espada (1997), which Master Botero donated in 2000 as part of the International Collection.

For its part, the Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá lamented the death of Vari, of which it said "he shared his life with the master Fernando Botero. We send his condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time."

The mayor of Medellín, Daniel Quintero, and the governor of Antioquia, Aníbal Gaviria, lamented the death of the artist.

"It is with immense sadness that I receive the news of the passing of Sophia Vari. With my wife Claudia we had the privilege of living several meetings with that wonderful woman and with the teacher Fernando Botero. To the teacher, to his family, solidarity hug and may God give them strength and faith," Gaviria said on Twitter.

The teacher Fernando Botero Angulo, the second of the three children of the marriage of David Botero Mejía and Flora Angulo Jaramillo, came into the world on April 19, 1932, in Medellín, capital of the department of Antioquia (northwest).

Botero has not only stood out for his artistic work, but also for his donations to museums and other institutions in Colombia and other countries.

His first donation was for the Museum of Antioquia, to which he gave seven oil paintings, a pastel and two watercolors and has continued to do so with other institutions.

One of the most important was in 1998 when he donated to the Bank of the Republic of Colombia 123 works of his authorship and 87 of international artists, which formed the Botero Museum that thousands of people visit annually in Bogotá.

  • art
  • Painting
  • Sculpture

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Learn more