Discernments about the tragic memories of the armed conflict in Colombia: Fernando Botero’s painting and the depiction of violence

Discernimientos sobre las memorias trágicas del conflicto armado en Colombia: La pintura de Fernando Botero y la representación de la violencia

The present text aims to generate reflections on the role played by the
visual arts, with special emphasis on the painting of Fernando Botero, which
shows in one of his collections donated by the painter to Colombia, great interest in retaking violent events in the country which currently they continue
to be remembered sporadically. To sustain this issue, the thinking of authors
such as Michael Pollak, Gaborit Pascaline, among others, is taken up in terms
of an interdisciplinary dialogue between art and memories of tragic events in
post-conflict times. Finally, a little is inquired into the role of heritage, assigned
by Colombian governmental entities to the canvases of the painter, a role in
which his memorial intention is ignored but his tendency to show folklore and
customs. This topic opens the doors for further investigative analyzes related
to the “underground memories” of the conflict of the late twentieth century
and early 2000s in Colombia.