Fernando Botero (Prestel Postcard Book) (Prestel Postcard Books)
Fernando Botero describes himself as "the most Colombian of Colombian painters." His vibrantly colorful pictures of voluptuously plump personalities from every walk of life have been exhibited widely since the 1960s, when they stood in stark contrast to the prevalence of abstract expressionism in New York's art scene. Influenced by the baroque, Latin American folk art, and Italian fresco, as well as the works of artists such as Velázquez, Goya, and Titian, Botero states, "I have no metaphysical messages. I consider myself a painter, nothing more." This pocket-sized booklet of 18 detachable postcards includes a charming array of his humorous and colorful figurative images.--A.C. Smith