Produced to accompany the first Belgian exhibition of the work of Fernando Botero, this catalogue invites us to explore the entire span of the Colombian artist's career and the origins of his distinctive style, which seeks, regardless of subject, to exalt the formal qualities of volume. Five previously unpublished essays by international specialists, each tackling Botero's work from a different point of view, shed new light on a rich repertoire of images that is already part of our collective imagination, but which, at first glance, seems to evade the conventional codes of modern painting.

Beyond Forms and keeping well clear of received ideas and preconceptions, we discover an oeuvre where the great sense of formal freedom never detracts from the rigorous mastery of traditional techniques; where the apparent simplicity is the result of an in‐depth study of the history of art and popular cultures; and where the decision to opt for figuration and the desire to create a body of work accessible to anyone and everyone are born of a constant reflection on what the art of his time has achieved and on its role in society.

With its joyous, enduring caress of shapes and colours, this is a book that offers the reader an array of keys to unlock a deeper, more rewarding understanding of this prolific, generous, and constantly evolving artist.