“The Collector,” painted by Fernando Botero in 1974, is a work that falls within the Naïve Art (Primitivism) movement and is classified as a portrait genre. The artwork features a collection of smaller framed paintings hung on a green wall, each depicting various subjects in Botero’s distinctive, exaggerated style. The central figure of the artwork is a corpulent woman, characterized by Botero’s signature rotund depictions. She stands prominently in the foreground, holding a painting of fruit and vegetables, and is dressed in a black dress with a white lace collar, complete with gold-rimmed glasses and a pink ribbon in her hair. The smaller paintings behind her feature a range of subjects, including still lifes of food, other corpulent figures in different scenes, and a monochromatic torso, reflecting Botero’s exploration of volume and form. The overall composition reflects a whimsical, almost surreal collection within a collection, capturing the essence of a connoisseur surrounded by the art she cherishes.
