The Temporary Exhibitions Pavilion at the MNBA is ready to receive fifty works of artist Fernando Botero's private collection. The artworks are in fact his and are not for sale. So, by visiting the exhibition, you get to see which are the drawings the artist has decided to keep for himself, such as, for example, a portrait of his son at 4.

Mujer con perro, by Fernando Botero (1998)

Technique: charcoal on canvas - Botero's private collection

Botero was born in Medellín, in 1932, and he spent his childhood among the Baroque churches of his hometown. That could possibly be the explanation to his large figures, which remind us of cherubs, those child-looking angels of round shapes. However, some believe his silhouettes were inspired in the middle-class men of his native Colombia. The thing is that, ever since que came up with such voluptuous figure, so attractive to the public, he was never able to let it go: it has become his trade mark.

In two of the works on exhibition, he uses a technique not so popular among artists and which requires a great skill: the sanguine.  It's a technique which uses an iron bar or dust which is diluted in water to achieve a soft red hue. It was used by Leonardo and Michelangelo...

Músicos, by Fernando Botero (2010)

Technique: pencil and sanguine on paper - Botero's private collection

To visit... "Botero. Dibujos en papel y en tela," at the MNBA. It can be visited till June 30th. 

And, since you'll be near... Walk to the Parque Thays and take a picture with the Torso Masculino Desnudo, a bronze sculpture the artist donated to the city of Buenos Aires...