Abstract: The subject of the study is the reaction of Colombian artists to the events that took place in the country on April 9, 1948 and were one of the most important milestones in the modern history of Colombia and the history of art of this country. On that day, peaceful Bogota was involved in an unprecedented civil uprising in Colombian history, the consequences of which affected all spheres of life of Colombian society. For art, this uprising also became a turning point in its development. Changes have taken place in all areas of fine art: there has been a pronounced social problem, there has been a break with academism and, of course, since the events of Bogotaso, the critical position of artists in relation to the phenomena of socio-political life in Colombia has received its vivid expression. This paper analyzes the paintings of key artists of the history of Colombian art: Enrique Grau and Alejandro Obregona. The works in question reflect the events of the fateful day for the country on April 9, 1948, interpreting the facts of this tragedy in their own way, and affirm the importance of the artist's socially critical position in society. Methodologically, this is a work with a comprehensive approach, including cultural-historical, iconographic, artistic-stylistic analysis of works. The novelty of the research lies in the study of the reaction of artists to political and social repression in Colombia, as well as in the study of the dizzying political and social changes that occurred after the events of Bogotaso in 1948 and influenced the development of the "critical art" of Colombia up to the present day.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the theme of violence in Colombia in the works of the Colombian artist Fernando Botero, mainly of the XX century. Attention is given to determination of the prerequisites for the emergence of the theme of violence in his painting. For this purpose, analysis is conducted on the indirect presence of this theme in Botero’s works since the very beginning of his career to paintings of mature and later periods. It is demonstrated that the artist approached the reflection of the theme of violence from different perspectives, depicting massacres, tortures, death, and involuntary relocation. The article employs the method based on iconographic analysis of the artist’s works, as well as artistic and stylistic analysis. The scientific novelty lies in examination of the topic relevant to the culture and history of the Latin American country, revealed in the works of Fernando Botero, who distanced himself from comprehension of art as resistance throughout his entire career. The author concludes that the Botero’s paintings may be called a form of depicting the slaughterous history of the country, without adherence of the painter to any political or party ideology. The manner used by Botero in the series “Violence in Colombia” is identical the artist resorts to throughout his career, which leads to distortion and caricaturing of the artistic form, in combination with the tragedy of storylines, which aggravates the dramatic character of the chosen themes. The works of Botero of the late XX century are of invaluable cultural value for Colombia.