THE CIRCUS

The circus is a universal and extremely plastic theme. Nothing one does turns out to be excessive because everything is always possible: a man may have two heads, or he may have a green face or be completely dressed in red from head to toe. The circus is all of this: a wonderful world of its own. Botero began to grapple with this theme in 2006, during one of his annual visits to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. There, he discovered a circus that, however modest, boasted an authentic Latin American flavour. The visit surprised him not only for the characters, who showed a restrained sadness, but above all for the immense poetry and the plasticity of its shapes and colours; moreover, the experience brought to mind the circus shows he had seen in Medellín during his youth. Although the players in the circus scene appear fully in action, they reflect the serenity and staticity typical of Botero’s characters, transmitting a paradoxical sensation oscillating between dynamism and stasis. The trapeze artists, clowns, and contortionists are transformed into the protagonists of this series of works that are characterized by their colours, their melancholy, and their poetic charm.