Botero Drawings

Fernando Botero has never been in fashion in academic/art critic circles because his work is too accessible, too easy to like. Almost all of his work has a cartoonish quality that is disarming, often humorous, and easily accessible to people unschooled in the arcane art theories of the moment. Indeed, who wants critics and theoreticians around to distract one from the sheer enjoyment of what Botero has to offer? And enjoyment is what this book is about. Botero's drawings are charming in both their subject matter and their execution, and this book shows them off superbly. Mixtures of watercolor, pencil, charcoal, or pastel, on paper or often on raw canvas, their techniques are varied and interesting. Admittedly their quality is somewhat variable, but at their best they are wry, eloquent, and riveting.