Self-Portrait 1959

Fernando Botero painted this self-portrait with oil on what looks like a small canvas. The brushstrokes are soft but deliberate, and the colour palette is muted, almost earthy. I can imagine him building up layers of paint, slowly coaxing his likeness from the surface. I wonder what was going through his mind when he created this piece. There’s something quite earnest in his gaze, but also a touch of humor. The way he’s depicted his own features – those full cheeks and that little moustache – it feels like he’s inviting us to see him as he sees himself. It’s like he’s saying, "Hey, this is me, take it or leave it." Botero’s paintings have always been about volume and form. In this self-portrait, the thick paint becomes a way of emphasizing the physicality of his subject, and you can see him in conversation with artists like Diego Rivera or even Lucian Freud. Painting is all about exchange—we are all in the same boat.