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Visiting the Museo de Antioquia

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Viewing Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI on a Visit to Medellín and The House of Amanda Ramirez - Fernando Botero

Yesterday, we visited the Museo de Antioquia. The name makes you think it will be a history museum, but actually it is an art museum. The Antioquia Museum is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Medellín, and it houses one of the largest collections of Fernando Botero artwork. The collection also includes work from several local and South American artists, including Pedro Nel Gomez, Francisco Antonio Cano and Carlos Correa. I have a been a fan of Botero for years, and have seen some of his work in other cities, so I was very excited to visit this museum. 

Drawing by Carlos Correa
The Museo de Antioquia resides in what was formerly the Casa de la Moneda (Coin House). It is a beautiful building facing the Casa de la Cultura (Culture Palace, which has its own good story) with Botero plaza in the middle. The plaza is filled with 23 bronze Botero statues that he donated to the city.

Statues by Fernando Botero

Fernando Botero is famous for his paintings and sculptures of voluminous people (he makes them fat as a way to demonstrate the larger-than-life personality of the Colombian people). Botero made several donations to the museum, not only of his work, but also from his own private collection of other artists. Side note: Botero is still alive and has a residence in Tuscany, Italy!

Pájaro - Fernando Botero

We went at around 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon, and there were very few other people in the museum. The entrance fee is 12.000 COP for residents and 18.000 COP for foreigners (why?), but well worth it. The staff recommended we start from the top floor and work our way down, so (after enjoying an espresso from the 1st floor cafe) that is what we did.

Standing in front of Botero paintings

The third floor houses most of Botero's work, including several paintings of bull fighting and matadors (according to Christies, Botero was training to be a bullfighter), religious figures, Colombian people and life, the Death of Pablo Escobar and acts of terror during the 90s.

Detail from one bull fighting painting.

The second floor spans art from pre-colonial Colombia up to modern, contemporary art. There are paintings, sculptures, a photography exhibit, coins and reliefs, sketches and modern pieces. You can also find a Picasso if you look hard enough.

Las Tres Gracias - Luis Alberto Acuña Tapias?

Portrait of me


You could easily spend a couple hours just on the second floor going through each of the drawers and panels. But, since we were trying to get on the train before the 5 o'clock rush hour, we had to do a quick pass.


Mirror - Anonymous
On the first floor, you can find two courtyards, the cafe I mentioned earlier, another restaurant and the museum shop, as well as a couple more small exhibits. We didn't spend much time here other than to use the bathroom.

Colombia Coca Cola - Antonio Caro

The visit really inspired me to pick up a pencil and start sketching or watercolors to paint. I would love to go back with sketch books to do some drawing. Maybe we will have time next month.

Mona Lisa Niña - Fernando Botero

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