The artwork titled “Death of Pablo Escobar,” created by Fernando Botero in 1999, belongs to the Naïve Art (Primitivism) movement and falls under the genre of history painting. This piece portrays the dramatic and violent moment of the demise of the notorious figure, Pablo Escobar.
In the artwork, Botero employs his distinct, voluminous style to depict Escobar’s final moments in a surreal and exaggerated manner. Escobar’s figure is large and robust, emphasizing his imposing presence. He is shown barefoot, astride the rooftops, collapsing and clutching a gun while bullet wounds penetrate his body, symbolic of his fatal encounter. Bullets are shown mid-flight around him, enhancing the sense of urgency and chaos. The sky is dark and ominous, mirroring the gravity of the scene, while the rooftops below suggest a dense and cluttered urban environment, indicative of the densely populated areas where Escobar operated. Botero’s work creates a powerful and evocative narrative that reflects both the brutality and the larger-than-life persona of Escobar.
