Opportunities in Fine Art: Botero’s “Dancing Couple” sold for a record price of USD 1,008,000.00

Fernando Botero’s signature ‘obese’, ‘plump’, and ‘inflatable’ figures became a hallmark of his painting style. Often associated and perceived as satirical or comical, Botero insists the viewers that he uses the exaggeration to hold more impact, producing more substance and apparent sensuality. This is perfectly present in the painting ‘Dancing Couple’ created in 1982. The couple is seen dancing in a cramped-up space inside a bar where many elements are present; the beers, the bottle, glasses, the movement of the characters, and etc.

But what is significant here is the gaze between the male dancer and the woman in the backdrop. While the male dancer is noticeably seen to be drawn to the woman outside, his partner longs to be seen in her eyes but will never be noticed by the male dancer.

Dancing Couple is sold for 1,008,000 USD last 9 March 2023 through the Latin American Art Auction at Christie’s New York.

Dancing Couple was first sold in 1982 for an undisclosed amount. In March 2009, the painting was sold at Christie's New York — Latin American Art Sale for USD 1,008,000. This was a record-breaking sale for Botero, with the painting selling for more than double its estimated value. The painting was acquired by a private collector and has not been seen publicly since.

As can be noticed from many of his works in his oeuvre in the 1980s, ‘Dancing Couple’ is painted in a variety of settings including bars, dance halls, outdoor spaces, and other social places. In his other works, many other people are drawn by Botero, ranging from card players, dancers, musicians, people doing mundane tasks, people eating, people drinking, people smoking, and other characters partaking in some sort of festivity

Fernando Botero’s style in this grouping is typical in his oeuvre, which the artist often draws inspiration from popular culture and depict it as inflated in its size. In this work, the tandem is transformed into icons by the artist himself and he emphasized the movements to be of that of a tango or other similar dance routines.

In the artist’s birthplace, in Medellin, draws his cultural identity here and his inclination to tango. Botero recognizes that dances in particular, have been utilized in many visual art in many countries by many artists as indicators of social and cultural identity. With this, he used it to reflect the significance of the dance and the dynamics of the couple in the photo. In this painting, the height of the man is magnified, towering the petiteness of his counterpart. Her partner’s leg is noticeably bent in the spaces of the legs of the man. Her blonde locks is freed flowing up until her back. Their strides in their dance take up most of the space in the setting, with their hands, feet, and movement filling almost the canvas. This technique is almost so intent that the couple barely notice how cramped up the space is, ignoring the floor of the bar with the empty bottle and cigarette butt that can be seen. The tight proximity of it all is highlighted as the dancing foot in the background is also seen, and a person’s arm near the beer-filled glass.

In the backdrop and equally important and noticeable, is how the male dancer locks eye contact with the woman gazing longingly from the doorway. Their eyes are locked together and are held in perpetuity. The blonde female dancer looks up at him but her gaze will never be reciprocated.

Like many of his other paintings, the characters’ elements; ranging from their gestures, makeup, clothing, accessories, often identify a specific time and place. This can be the artist’s way of hinting that this happened in a bygone era. The details of the setting, the elements present, the ornaments, the activity, and other noticeable figures in the painting and everything combined will always be an indicator of the artist’s clever expression of when the painting was created.

Celebrated Colombian Sculptor and Painter Fernando Botero was born on 19 April 1932 in Medellin, Columbia as the second of three sons of David Botero and Flora Angulo. His father was a salesman who traveled by horseback and died of a heart attack when Fernando was four years old. His mother was a seamstress.

During his youth, he attended a matador school while also at a Jesuit secondary school, an influence which would be mirrored in his oeuvre. After leaving school and briefly working as a set designer, he then returned to Columbia in 1951 where he had his first solo exhibition at Galeria Leo Matiz. During this time, he was greatly influenced by Mexican muralists like Gabriel Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera. One of his early works is the Weeping Woman, painted in 1949.

Botero then went to Spain with a group of other artists, visiting Madrid and Barcelona. During his stay there, he went to the Academia de San Fernando and sold copies of Francis de Goya, Diego Velasquez, and Titian to tourists. He was then able to have his second show in Bogota again with Matiz before returning to Florence and Paris to study the collections of notable museums and learning techniques used during the Renaissance period.

His signature ‘obese’, ‘plump’, and ‘inflatable’ figures became a hallmark of his painting style. Often associated and perceived as satirical or comical, Botero insists the viewers that he uses the exaggeration to hold more impact, producing more substance and apparent sensuality.

Now in his early nineties, Fernando Botero has been married for more than 40 years to his wife, Sophia Vari, a Greek sculptor and jewelry designer, still he continues to work incessantly. Demand for his sculpture and paintings remain strong as can be seen in recent prices for his works continue to have been sold in notable auction houses all over the world.

Botero was able to showcase his skills in painting at the Leo Matiz Gallery in Bogota (1951-1952) at the age of nineteen, before travelling to Florence and Paris. In 1958, after several exhibitions of group and solo performances in Mexico and America, which included the Guggenheim Museum in New York, he was nominated as Professor of Fine Art Painting at the Bogota Academy of Art. Three years later, his painting ‘Mona Lisa at the Age of 12’ was acquired by the New York Museum of Modern Art.

From the period 1965-1982, the artist travelled and exhibited in many countries; from Bogota to Japan, with retrospectives at the Hirschhorn Museum in Washington D.C., and Tokyo. The following year, his picture ‘Ball in Columbia’ was bought by the New York Metropolitan Museum.

Christie’s was founded by James Christie in 1766. Known for its expertise in both live and online auctions and bespoke private sales, Christie’s remains a world-leading art business that offers its global services to its stakeholders including art financing, art appraisal, international education and real estate.

Currently it has established its presence in 46 countries throughout the Americas, Middle East, Europe, and Asia Pacific with its main flagship international hubs can be found in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris, and Geneva.It also remains as the only international auction house to be authorized in holding sales in China.

The Auction House offers more than 80 art and luxury categories usually ranging from $200 to more than $100 million. Recently, Christie’s was honored to have held several world record prices including (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi in 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn in 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019).

Christie’s continues to persist as one of the leading auction house in the 20th century

Latin American Art was conducted last 9 March 2023 in New York, USA. It had a minimum estimation of $9,095,000 and a maximum estimation of $13,595,000 and a total realized price of $9,616,920. Total number of artists in the subject auction is 32.

Notable lots sold in the event are; 1. Ville by Antonio Bandeira with a price realized of $856,800; 2. Soy una Fuente (I Am a Fountain) by Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons for $100,800 and; 3. A?o 1 Luna by Pedro Coronel sold for $693,000. This painting can become “big business” for you too!

Want to enjoy and own the only Original Unique & Personal Version of this Masterpiece or get it for any of your clients? The WPWR French Riviera Fine Art Collective will paint it for you in excellent museum quality and in original size and with the potential for future value appreciation! Award winning artists will create it exclusively for you in a collective effort. There will be only one and it will be painted for your eyes only! You and your client can enjoy the unique beauty of this record selling painting! See all about the painting, the artist and the record-breaking sale and to get your FREE Referral Code for significant benefits visit https://masterpiece-for-sale.com/irene/?

Contact Irene Bagares

The WPWR French Riviera Art Collective

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