Museo Botero Bogotá

Located within the Manzana Cultural or cultural block of the Banco de la República in the historic center of Bogotá, the Museo Botero houses paintings from Colombia's most accomplished artist--Fernando Botero. Recognized by his signature style of depicting people and figures in large, exaggerated volume, his oversized interpretations of famous European paintings like da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Van Gogh's sunflowers are some of my favorites. The museum sits in a beautifully restored colonial mansion that until 1955 belonged to the Archbishop of the city. In 2000, Botero donated to the Central Bank an entire art collection of 208 works--123 of his own and 85 by international artists such as Picasso, Renoir, and Dali--all to ensure that they would be made available, free of charge, for the public to enjoy for many years to come. For those of you not familiar with Botero (you may have passed by his statues in Paris or New York City without realizing it), you can check out his works on the Google Art Project.