The Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, the most famous Colombian artist known for his sculptures of voluptuous figures, died this Friday at the age of 91, local media and authorities reported.

The artist, born on April 19, 1932 in Medellín, continued painting in his studio until he suffered pneumonia for which he had to be hospitalized, but on Thursday he left the hospital to recover at home, according to W Radio.

“I am the painter of volume, not of fat women,” said the author a few years ago at the presentation of a book about his work, ‘Las mujeres de Botero’ (ATIKA). “I think it is important to create something in which painting is carried out under free, imaginative and innovative parameters. It is not about creating the kind of beauty that is shown by classical canons. The goal, rather, is to achieve a state in which it becomes possible to surprise and be surprised,” he wrote in this work.

“I don’t want to copy a fruit, I have an idea of ??that fruit and it is enough for me to create an unreal world, which interests me more than the real one,” said the artist in another of his visits to Spain in statements to EFE.

“We deeply regret the departure of Fernando Botero, one of the greatest artists in Colombia and the world. Always generous with his country, a great friend, and a passionate builder of peace. Our most sincere condolences to his entire family,” he said on social media. former Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos.