Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt

• Name — Rodrigo Arenas-Betancourt • Birth Name — Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt • Born — 23 October 1919 • Birthplace — El Uvital, near to Fredonia, Antioquia, Colombia • Died — 14 May 1995 • Place of death — Medellín, Colombia • Field — * sculptor • Works — * Vargas swamp lancers (1969) • Nude Bolívar (1963) • The Family (1984) • Prometheus Bound (1968) • Condor Bolívar (1991)

Arenas was the son of a peasant couple from Antioquia. As a child, he helped his parents with farming in Fredonia, his hometown. After completing his primary education, he briefly attended the Yarumal Seminary of Missions between 1931 and 1932. Around 1938, he began developing his skills as a sculptor, carving wooden Christ figures and assisting other sculptors and muralists, such as Pedro Nel Gómez and Bernardo Vieco Ortiz, in the construction of their works.

Arenas studied at the Institute of Fine Arts in Medellín and at the School of Fine Arts of the National University of Colombia in Bogotá between 1939 and 1941. In 1944, Arenas decided to settle in Mexico to pursue studies at the Academy of San Carlos and the La Esmeralda Free Art Association. During his time in Mexico, Arenas combined his studies in visual arts with work related to his artistic side. Also Arenas was a set design assistant at Azteca Estudios, a writer and columnist for print media, a sculptor, and an art photographer. Arenas was an art teacher at the Ciudadela School of Crafts in Mexico City, which he also co-founded. Between 1959 and 1966, Arenas worked in the United States and then traveled to Europe, where he lived until the end of 1966. During his time on the continent, Arenas Betancourt also served as Minister Counselor at the Colombian Embassy in Italy. Upon returning to Colombia permanently in early 1967, he established his art studio in the municipality of Caldas (Antioquia), where he employed both novice and experienced artists. He also served as an artistic advisor to the University of Antioquia in his home country. Throughout his career, he worked with a variety of materials, from drawings, portraits, and watercolors to monumental works that combined steel and concrete. He was also a skilled sculptor, utilizing plaster, wood, basalt, stone, bronze, and terracotta, among others. From the early 1950s onward, he began creating his larger works, generally commissioned by government entities and private companies, and some simply undertaken for his personal enjoyment. Additionally to sculpture, Arenas Betancourt worked in printmaking and book illustration. Examples of his artwork are: • Nude Bolívar in Pereira • Monumento a la Raza, bronze and concrete, 38 m height, located in La Alpujarra Administrative Center in Medellín • Sculptural Complex Vargas Swamp Lancers near Paipa is the largest sculpture in Colombia. • Monument to Effort in Armenia • Monument to the Marching Revolution in Valledupar • Monument to the founders in Bogotá (installed 1965) Cuauhtémoc, one of his great sculptures created between 1953 and 1954, 18 meters high and made of bronze and basalt, which was expressly commissioned by the Mexican government to be installed in the Building of the Ministry of Communications and Public Works (SCOP) of Mexico City, was irreparably damaged in the Mexico earthquake of 1985. On 18 October 1987, Arenas was kidnapped by the FARC in Caldas (Antioquia), while traveling with his wife and children. He was released on 1 January 1988, after 81 days in captivity, after his family paid a large sum of money demanded by his kidnappers for his release, he dedicated himself to drawing in a notebook and writing about his experiences in captivity, which later formed the basis for his book, 'The Steps of the Condemned' (es:Los pasos del condenado).

Arenas Betancourt died on 14 May 1995 in El Rosario Clinic in Medellín in 1995 from liver cancer. His remains rest in Fredonia. His ashes rest at the base of the torch of liberty carried on the right hand of the sculpture of the Nude Bolívar.

Arenas Betancourt was married twice. Celia Calderón de la Barca Olvera was his wife, a Mexican artist whom he married in 1950 and who was known for her engravings, oil paintings and watercolors, although their relationship ended tragically with her suicide in Mexico, an event that deeply impacted him. His second wife was Lydia Rosas, with whom he had two children: José Patricio, Rita Virginia and Margarita. His third wife was the poet María Elena Quintero, who accompanied him during the last 20 years of his life and is now the caretaker of his legacy.

His bronze statues are characterized by their enormous proportions and dramatic expression. He is considered one of the most prolific and highly regarded Colombian artists, both nationally and internationally. His works are characterized by their monumental scale, melodrama, and spectacular nature, many of which highlight prominent figures in Colombian history and their significant achievements. Many of his sculptures are public monuments, and almost his entire body of work can be found in various cities in Colombia and Mexico. Some works not intended for public display remain in Caldas (Antioquia) under the care of his wife, María Elena Quintero de Arenas, and their five children. He was a serial sculptor who primarily worked with bronze, concrete, and steel, although some of his early works also incorporated terracotta. He won the National Salon of Artists of Colombia Prize in 1975, awarded by the Colombian Institute of Culture (Colcultura). Among his most outstanding works, which are currently on public display, are the following; • Sculture — Image — Date of construction — Heigh — Country — Location • Prometheus (and Quetzalcoátl) — — 1951–1952 — 7,7 M. — Faculty of Exact Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) — Mexico City • The Prayer to the Outlaw — — 1957 — 3,6 M. — El Dorado International Airport — Bogotá, Colombia • Prometheus Bound — — 1957 — 2,5 M. — Facade of the Alternate Headquarters of the Museum of Antioquia — Medellín (Antioquia) • The Wounded Macaw — — 1959 — 2,5 M. — Concrete sculpture. Lomas de Cuernavaca subdivision Cuernavaca (Morelos) — México • Monumental heads of the heroes of the Mexican Revolution: Moreno, Hidalgo, Juárez and Zapata — 1959–1960 — 2,5 M. each one — Different places — Mexico City • Nude Bolívar — — 1956–1962 — 10 M. — Bolivar Square Pereira — Pereira, Risaralda Department, Colombia • Tribute to General José María Córdova — — 1957–1964 — 6 M. — Main park, Rionegro — Rionegro, Antioquia, Colombia • Prometheus — — 1966 — 10 M. — Carrera 13 con Calle 13, Avenida Circunvalar — Pereira (Risaralda) • Long Journey from the Womb to the Heart of Fire — 1964–1966 — Two panels, each 3 x 8.5 m — Facade of the Antioquia Beneficence tower, Av. Sucre with Ayacucho, Medellín (Antioquia) — Medellín, Colombia • Christ Falling (Christ Prometheus) — — 1965–1968 — 6 M. — Central Courtyard of Block 16 of the University of Antioquia, Medellín (Antioquia) — Medellín, Colombia • Prometheus Bound — 1967–1968 — 6 M. — Main Plaza of the Technological University of Pereira — Pereira, Colombia • The Flue player and the Dog — — 1969 — 1,6 M. — Concrete and plaster San Ignacio tower, University of Antioquia — Medellín, Colombia • Man, creator of Energy — — 1968–1970 — 18 M. — Bronze, steel and concrete, 18 m height, located in University of Antioquia, Medellín (Antioquia) — Medellín, Colombia • Vargas Swamp Lancers — — 1968–1971 — 33 M. — Bronze, steel and concrete, 33 m height, Paipa, Boyacá. It is the largest monument and/or sculpture in Colombia. It was declared a National Monument by Decree 1744 1 September 1975. — Paipa, Colombia • Monument to life — — 1971–1974 — 14 M. — Tower's square Suramericana de Seguros. — Medellín, Colombia • Monument in homage to Cacica Gaitana — — 1974 — 21 M. — Av. Circunvalar con Calle 4, Neiva (Huila — Neiva, Colombia • The Prometheus of Freedom (Monument to the Banana Plantations) — 1974–1978 — 14 M. — |This artwork was designed to be installed in Curaçao. It was ultimately installed in the Plaza de los Mártires, Ciénaga Magdalena — Ciénaga, Colombia • Monument to Effort — — 1978 — 12 M. — bronze, steel and concrete, 28 m height, Armenia, Colombia, Quindío Department — Armenia, Colombia • The Race Challenge — — 1980 — 18 M. — Headquarters of Banco Popular, Parque Berrío, Medellín (Antioquia) — Medellín, Colombia • The Creation — — 1981–1983 — 18 M. — Av. La Playa (Cl. 52) con Av. Oriental (Cr. 46) Edificio Vicente Uribe Rendón, Medellín (Antioquia) — Medellín, Colombia • Naked John Lennon — 1981–1982 — 2,8 M. — This work was commissioned, and three original casts were made. One was located at the Posada Alemana in Salento, Quindío, commissioned by Carlos Lehder. Its whereabouts have been unknown since 2003, although it is believed to be in the possession of María Elena Quintero, Arenas' widow. Another is held in the family's private collection, and the last one is located at the entrance of the Hotel Nebraska in Doradal, a district of Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia. — Salento, Colombia • Monument to Porfirio Barba Jacob — — 1982–1983 — 5,5 M. — Main park, Santa Rosa de Osos, (Antioquia) — Antioquia, Colombia • The Family (The New Life) — — 1984 — 9 M. — Bronze and steel. It was originally designed to be part of the main park in Fredonia (Antioquia), but this idea never materialized. From 1986, it was located in the Monaco Tower in Medellín (Antioquia), a former residence owned by Pablo Escobar. It was dismantled in 2018, a few months before the building's demolition and its whereabouts have been unknown since 2025. — Medellín, Colombia • Christ the Liberator of Latin America or Liberty Christ — — 1978–1985 — 15 M. — Queen Mary Cathedral, Barranquilla — Barranquilla, Atlántico Department, Colombia • Monumento a la Raza — — 1988 — 38 M. — La Alpujarra Administrative Center — Medellín, Colombia • Brother Horse — — 1988 — 1,7 M. without a pedestal — La Alpujarra Administrative Center, El Poblado neighborhood, opposite the Vegas de Zúñiga housing development, Avenida Las Vegas con Calle 18C Sur, Medellín (Antioquia) — Medellín, Colombia • Bolívar Cóndor — — 1991 — 17 M. — Bronze and concrete, located in the main square of Manizales (Caldas) — Manizales, Colombia • The Revolution in Progress — — 1994 — 6,5 M. — Alfonso López square, Valledupar (Cesar Department) — Valledupar, Colombia • Monument to the Founders — — 1995 — 22 M. — Parque de los Fundadores, Villavicencio (Meta) — Villavicencio, Colombia • God Mercury — — 1997 — 1,5 M. — San Antonio station (Medellín), Medellín Metro — Medellín, Colombia • God Mercury — — 5 M. — Mercurio Plaza, between 5th and 6th Streets with 9th and 10th Avenues, in front of the Fenalco tower, Cali. Identical to the one located in Medellín except for its copper-colored finish and being mounted on a pedestal. — Cali, Colombia • The foals — — 1997 — 4 M. — Homage to José Eustasio Rivera. Av. La Toma con Carrera 2, Neiva (Huila) — Neiva, Colombia • The flute player and the Dancer — — 1997 — Municipal Administrative Center, Itagüí (Antioquia) — Itagüí, Colombia • The flute player and the Dancer — — 3,5 M — Lleras Park, corner of the Calle 9A with Carrera 40, Medellín (Antioquia) — Itagüí, Colombia • The God Pan — Colombia • El Juárez — México — Puebla • Christ without the Cross — Colombia — Pereira • El Águila que Cae — México — In front of the communications tower, México City • Cristo Moreno — Colombia — San Benito Abad, Sucre

Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt is recorded with the occupation sculptor. Classed in the genre figurative art. Established in IdRef (French universities) under 14854018X. Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt is established in Library of Congress under n85361680. Recorded as sculptor, painter, writer and artist. Established in RKDartists under 220409. Established in FAST under 191391.