Botero is one of the most popular artists alive today and is exhibited in countless institutions throughout the world. He gained international fame painting corpulent and comical figures who embody the sometimes whimsical tragedy of life. Botero imbues his monumental figures with an overabundant sensuality that reveals a gluttony of human truth from torture to greed, pleasure to despair, absurdity, impassivity, and more. Botero had his first solo exhibit at the early age of nineteen and, by twenty, had been awarded second prize at the National Salon in Bogota. He spent time traveling to study the work of the old masters eventually reinterpreting classic paintings in his gargantuan style.