Fernando Botero's Fat Cat Sculpture

Barcelona and Fernando Botero's relationship is not as deep-rooted as, for example, Botero's relationship with Medellín or Paris, but the city still plays an important role in how the Colombian artist was received and interpreted by European audiences. Botero did not live in Barcelona for long, but several of his works have appeared in the city over the years, especially in public spaces and exhibitions, creating a unique cultural connection between the city and his oeuvre.

Fernando Botero, the world-famous Colombian painter and sculptor, has redefined the concept of beauty with his art. His own style is “boterismo”, which is characterized by oversized forms, rounded shapes and a certain softness. However, for him these were not just aesthetic games. This art, like the works of Gabriel García Márquez in literature, can also be linked to Colombian magical realism.

According to Botero, in art, exaggeration can also be truth. When he increased the size of figures and objects, he wanted to highlight their essence: movement, emotion, meaning. For him, fullness symbolizes the joy of life, abundance, and dignity.

“I don’t paint fat people,” he said, “but shapes that have more life in them.”His art is both humorous and profound, playful and thought-provoking. While his paintings and sculptures often bring a smile to the face, behind them lies a critique of society, power, and human nature.

Botero's ars poetica is therefore about the harmony of form, exaggeration and human dignity - about the fact that beauty can be diverse and that all forms of life deserve attention. "The crowd is missing from 20th-century painting, but this is precisely what attracts me, and I look for this in landscapes and still lifes," the artist said.

As one of the European cradles of modernism – the city of Gaudí, Miró, Tàpies – Barcelona has always been receptive to artists who deviated from classical norms, who rewrote the rules of form to their own taste. Botero fits perfectly into this category. Although he is neither Catalan nor European, he was able to connect with this milieu while maintaining his South American roots. His art is powerful, yet accessible to everyone. Barcelona loves this: originality, audacity, and something that is both popular and profound.

Barcelona's most famous Botero sculpture is the "fat cat", or Gato: if there's one thing that's truly associated with Botero's presence in Barcelona, ​​it's the famous bronze cat, which has become one of the city's iconic public sculptures.

“Gato,” Fernando Botero’s fat cat sculpture, was originally created in 1987, but it has since moved to several locations before finding its permanent home. It was first displayed near the Parc de la Ciutadella, then around the Olympic Stadium, and finally in 2003, it was installed in the Raval neighborhood on the Rambla del Raval. Here, it has truly become part of the city – a popular meeting point, photo backdrop, and mascot for locals and tourists alike.

The cat perfectly reflects Botero's style: oversized body, soft, rounded shapes, a slightly comical, yet dignified character. In the case of the cat, this form is playful, smiling, but also somehow sculpturally majestic. And very "Botero-esque".

Barcelona responds particularly well to this kind of art. In the city's public spaces, contemporary art is organically connected to everyday life, and Gato fulfills exactly this function: it is not to be viewed in a museum, but is "alive", directly present. Children climb on it, tourists hug it, locals just smile when they pass by it - this kind of immediacy is one of Botero's most important values.

So if there's one artwork that symbolizes Botero's connection to Barcelona, ​​it's the fat cat on Rambla del Raval - and it's not just important as a sculpture, but how it has become part of the city is what makes it truly special.