On December 2, 1999, the blow dealt to trafficking in Colombia was so great that it sent shockwaves around the world. Pablo Escobar, the leader of the Medellín Cartel was shot while fleeing not only from the Colombian authorities but also from his enemies, who had been trying to get rid of him for some time.
Although it is not clear who fired the gun that killed Pablo Escobar, many used his death to turn it into art, as in the case of Fernando Botero, who painted two paintings with the drug trafficker as the main figure, of which the BBC in London revealed their story, taking advantage of the fact that this weekend marked a quarter of a century since the death of one of the most dangerous drug traffickers in the world.
Botero’s Infamous Paintings of Pablo Escobar
Fernando Botero, Colombian by birth, painted two paintings that although they were not pinnacles of his career, are considered an important part of it, especially for what they reflect to the world. The first was entitled The Death of Pablo Escobar, painted in 1999, while the second, called Pablo Escobar Dead, was painted in 2006.
Since they were made public, according to the BBC’s own version, the paintings have been the talk of the town, although not much was known about them. Juan Carlos Botero, son of the renowned artist, talked about them and about the moments in which his father painted both paintings of Pablo Escobar.
Violence in Colombia and Escobar’s Death
According to Juan Carlos, both paintings by Botero represent two different series. The first one talks about the violent environment in which people lived at the time under Escobar’s operations, and the second one refers to the time when Pablo had already died, which also represented a wave of violence that was unleashed after the Capo’s assassination.
Are They Considered Art?
Beyond considering it art, Juan Carlos Botero assured that his father did not paint these paintings as a way to obtain some kind of economic gain or international recognition. The reason why Fernando Botero painted these pictures is because he wanted the episodes of violence experienced in Colombia due to the trafficking led by Pablo Escobar, never to be forgotten.
And yes, there is a reason for having painted Escobar so magnificently. It is not because they wanted to magnify what Pablo Escobar did in leading drug trafficking in Colombia. According to Juan Carlos Botero himself, who also made this reference in his book The Art of Fernando Botero, his father wanted to reflect the magnitude of the tragedy that Escobar’s actions meant for Colombia.
This story was written in Spanish by Lau Almaraz in Cultura Colectiva