Los Musicos poster by Fernando Botero

This beautiful exhibition poster was produced in 1979 for an exhibition at the Hirshhorn, Washington D.C.

Much-loved Colombian artist Fernando Botero (1932-2023) was known for painting figures in large, exaggerated volume. Here, his  Los Músicos (The Musicians)  depicts a group of musicians, rendered in Botero's signature style, capturing a lively yet introspective scene. The original work came up for sale in 2006, when Susan L. Arberth wrote thus for the Christies lot essay:

"A group of musicians in a bar or public hall of some sort, anemically illuminated by a string of pale lights and replete with an old-fashioned juke box, face us attentively as if waiting for our cue to begin to play. Far from boisterous, these unsmiling figures have the solemnity and static poses of a wall painting in an ancient Egyptian temple. Such is the sly humour of Fernando Botero, the Colombian artist who specialises in poking loving fun of the complacent and self-satisfied bourgeoisie of his nation. His trademark fondness for rotundity serves many purposes as we can see here in his Musicians from 1979 where the drably garbed, brown-suited men look like so many chocolates crammed in a gift box topped with a bright bow in the form of the pink and lavender ruffles of the girl's dress in the foreground. Musicians, sometimes accompanied by singers and dancers, are a favoured theme of Botero (the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Dancing in Colombia of 1980 is another superb example). This subject, often used to express national identity, runs throughout 20th century Latin American art and can be seen in the work of Emilio Pettoruti, Rufino Tamayo, Pedro Figari, and Emiliano di Cavalcanti. Botero's musicians are part of the vast repertoire he employs to celebrate aspects of every day Colombian life.... Nevertheless, poised on the brink of a noisy entertainment meant for enjoyment, we eagerly wait for the party to begin."

Approximate dimensions:

Paper Size: 41.75 x 29.25 inches ( 106 x 74 cm )
Image Size: 33.75 x 29.25 inches ( 86 x 74 cm )