Fernando Botero is about as well-known an artist as there is in Colombia. His signature sculptural style can be pretty well described as, well, “bulbous.”

During a renovation of the Antioquia Museum in central Medellin (Antioquia is Medellin’s state) in 2004, Botero donated several of his own works, and they sit in the plaza just between the museum and the Uribe Palace of Culture.

That checkerboard-patterned building that looks suspiciously like a church is the Palace of Culture.

Why is his art so, um, distinctive? He’s got a quote for that: “An artist is attracted to certain kinds of form without knowing why. You adopt a position intuitively; only later do you attempt to rationalize or even justify it.”

Oh yeah, he’s an artist.

He also makes pretty good picture-taking spots.

I have to say, though, that it definitely grows on you. We ran into several other Boteros in other cities in Colombia; they’re quite popular as plaza art. And it definitely helps you feel like a connoisseur when you can name the artist immediately.

I think my personal favorite was the big, naked Roman soldier. (He’s not a Trojan. I checked.)