VÍA CRUCIS

Fernando Botero

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In 2012, Fernando Botero donated his Vía Crucis series to the Museo de Antioquia in Medellín. Now, to mark his 90th birthday, the artist wanted to turn his masterpiece into an edition that pays tribute to the people of Colombia. This is the art book that connects the history of art with the master’s memories.

A limited and numbered edition of 2,998 copies which includes the complete series of 34 drawings and 27 paintings (61 works in total) in which the artist depicts his personal interpretation of the Stations of the Cross.

Botero’s dedication is found in every detail of this artist’s book, created in collaboration with Colombia’s Museum of Antioquia (Museo de Antioquia) and presented in a case-display. Crafted in methacrylate with a removable, passion-red side frame and the artist’s signature in relief, it provides access to the two volumes – an open window dedicated to the magnificence of the Colombian master's art.

The Art Book features the 34 drawings from the series reproduced with full faithfulness to the originals, executed in pencil and watercolour on paper. Each print is paired with a quote from the Bible, printed on semi-transparent red paper. The cover of this bilingual edition, in Spanish and English, is a never-before-published image, printed on canvas: a silhouetted detail of the oil painting Cerca de la Cruz (2010), from the artist’s private collection.

The cornerstones of Botero’s work are analysed in detail in the articles in the Study Book. Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former director general of UNESCO, discusses the artist’s enormous contribution to the universalisation of culture and art, and David Ebony, American critic, reviews the keys to Boterism.

The Museum of Antioquia’s director general, María del Rosario Escobar, offers a broad overview of the transformation of Medellín and Botero’s role in this change. And Camilo Castaño, the museum’s curator, takes us on a journey through the artist’s work and analyses the series in depth, focusing on each of the 34 drawings.

Fernando Botero was fully involved in producing this work; he personally supervised, revised and approved all the pieces, particularly the 34 drawings in the series.

The pages of the Art Book, created in white and red semi-transparent sheets, have been hand-sewn with high-quality cotton thread to make the casings of this volume.

The Art Book is hand-bound using special glue to bind the book's trifold to the cover, the image of which is a silhouetted detail from the oil painting Cerca de la Cruz (2010).

The 34 prints are attached to the Art Book using three dots of glue. On the back of each sheet is the numbering and stamp from the Museum of Antioquia, Medellín

The cover of the Study Book, also hand-bound, features two striking illustrations of Fernando Botero by the renowned photographer Ruven Afanador.

The case-display in passion-red lacquered wood creates a frame around the perimeter, a window into Botero’s art through two pieces of 10 mm methacrylate that reveal both volumes.

Botero’s signature appears in transparent relief on the left side of the case-display. The title of the work, Via Crucis, has been stamped on the methacrylate.

The case-display contains the Art Book and the Study Book, which can be removed by separating part of the outer wooden frame.

Art Book

• Bilingual edition, Spanish and English.

• 152 pages total: 84 pages on 200 g (0.44 lb) white Tintoretto Gesso paper and 68 pages on 100 g (0.22 lb) red Chromatic Vegetable Vermillion paper.

• Cover in 3 mm thick cardboard with Toile Canvas TCA cloth 38051 in beige.

• 34 sheets on 160 g (0.35 lb) Conqueror Antique Diamond paper. Printed in 4+1 inks, numbered on the back.

• Size: 40 x 40 cm (15.75 x 15.75 in).

• Weight: 3.08 kg (6.79 Ib).

Study Book

• Monolingual edition (two versions: Spanish or English).

• Flyleaves: 180 g (0.39 lb.) plain white Geltex.

• 200 pages on 150 g (0.33 lb.) Tatami White paper + varnish. Printed in 4+4 inks + protective varnish.

• Paperback binding with semi-rigid cover without flaps and anti-fingerprint soft-touch matte lamination.

• Size: 40 x 40 cm (15.75 x 15.75 in).

• Weight: 2.85 kg (6.28 Ib).

Case-display

• Lacquered MDF wooden case, 1.05 cm (0.41 in).

• Signature on the left side with glued transparent relief.

• Methacrylate of 1 cm (0.39 in) engraved on the front and back, title of the work engraved on the front.

• Measurements: 42.5 x 42.5 x 8 cm (16.7 x 16.7 x 3.14 in)

• Case weight: 5.26 kg (11.59 lb).

• Total weight of the work: 14.78 kg (32.58 lb).

(1932) From a young age, he manifested a high interest in art that grew until it became his greatest passion. The artistic creations of Fernando Botero carry with them an irreverent interpretation of the figurative trend, called "boterismo", where the volume becomes the absolute protagonist of his creations. Nowadays, his unique style has made him one of the most admired and recognized contemporary artists of the international artistic field.