Marlborough Gallery, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner

New York, Marlborough Gallery, Fernando Botero - Recent Work, November 7-December 2, 1980, p. 29, n. 21, illustrated in color

Pierre Restany, Botero, Geneva 1983, illustrated in color
"Botero", Découvrons l'art - 20e siècle, Paris, 1996, illustrated💜 in color and reproduced on dust jacket

This painting is in excellent condition. The canvas has never been removed from its original stretcher. The paint layer does not seem to be varnished. There is no damage to the paint layer and any small bumps or unusual marks to the picture, for instance on the shoulder of the young lady, are all original. There appear to be no retouches and the picture should be hung as is. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.)
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Fernando Botero's interpretation of reality is unique in style as well as in execution. In a world where the viewer has been lulled into a trance by the media's bombardment, Botero's imagery still has the power to stop, provoke and even shock.
Botero's paintings, as we know them, came to be after a series of logical progressions. His early paintings resulted from an intense study of the works of the Old Masters as well as analyzing the paintings of the father of modernism, Paul Cézanne. In addition to seeing those works during a trip to Europe in 1952, the paintings of New York's Abstract Expressionists were also of theoretical interest to the young artist. After giving up a professorship at the School of Fine Arts at the National University in Bogotá, Botero traveled to New York where he decided to make his mark in the art world. He arrived in America after already having had a one-man show at the Pan American Union in Washington, D.C. It was in 1961, though, when The Museum of Modern Art in New York acquired his 1959 masterpiece Mona Lisa, Age Twelve that Botero launched into the mainstream.
As his style matured, the genre of his imagery became satirical renditions of fantastical personages of Latin America that are literally "larger than life." Depictions of generals, bishops, nuns, politicos, musicians, nudes, brothel scenes and even the mundane still life were "updated" to be seen in a new light.
Painted in 1980, Fernando Botero's La Toilette is a masterful rendition of one of the artist's favorite subjects, the female in an intimate setting. Botero tends to primarily focus on standing and reclining female nudes that are posed in surroundings reminiscent of the Old Masters who were inspirational to his painting. Sensuality is explored in Botero's compositions (see fig. 1); the fleshy, eroticized, voluptuous nude is captured in an private moment. This preparatory work was re-worked, resulting in the large-scale canvas, La Toilette.  In the final composition, the same model is depicted; though, in this case she is seen in a yellow floral-printed dress. Characteristic of works painted during this period, La Toilette exacts theও flourish that Botero commands with his brush. Botero has made great efforts to carefully delineate the figure's coiffed hair, as evidenced by the comb🌠 in her hand.  Additionally, the woman's flesh has been rendered delicately; a small beauty mark adorns her shoulder. Her beaded necklace glistens from the light reflected by the large looking glass.  Extraneous elements have been eliminated in order for the viewer to focus on the moment when the woman is applying her bright-red lipstick, prior to her meeting her lover or client.

 

Fig. 1 Fernando Botero, Woman Before a Mirror, 1980, oil on canvas laid dow🦂n on panel, 16 3/8 by Photo:  Sotheby's, November, 1997, $90,500