Bernard Buffet

(French, 1928-1999) 

“Painting… we do not talk about it, we do not analyze it, we feel it.”
— Bernard Buffet

Thick, angular, black lines, bold, graphic style, expressive colors, and dismal themes are characteristic of the edgy paintings of Bernard Buffet. His massive body of work consists mostly of figurative Expressionist paintings.

Buffet was born in 1928 in Paris, France. He attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. Buffet was 11 years old at the start of WWII and 17 by the end of it. The Nazis occupied France during his formative years and it affected his circumstances, mindset, and creative work. Times were extremely hard and he dove into still lifes, religious works, landscapes, and portraits. He attended the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts for two years starting in 1943. He showed his first painting, a self-portrait, at the Salon des Moins de Trente Ans at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in 1946, and by the age of 19, he had his first solo show. Buffet’s grim vision of the world fit perfectly with Jean Paul Sartre’s existentialist philosophy and the post-war feelings of dismay and estrangement from one’s identity or from the human species as a whole. He received instant praise and they awarded him Membership of the Salon d’Automne in 1947 and co-recipient of the Prix de la Critique in 1948 at the age of 20. In addition, in 1948, he and Pierre Berge fell in love at first sight and would live together for the next 8 years. Buffet illustrated "Les Chants de Maldoror" in 1952, written by le Comte de Lautréamonte. Buffet was a prolific artist, said to have produced as many paintings by the time he was 26 as Renoir did entirely. He was given the first prize out of the ten best post-war artists chosen in the French magazine Connaissance des Arts in 1955. Bergé left Buffet for Yves Saint Laurent around 1956.

In 1958, now a highly successful artist, celebrity and socialite, he was called one of “France’s Fabulous Young Five,” together with Françoise Sagan, Yves Saint Laurent, Roger Vadim and Brigitte Bardot by The New York Times Magazine. In the same year, he married Annabel Schwob with whom he would adopt three children, and the Galleries Carpenter in Paris held his first retrospective exhibition. The once-starving artist now had two Rolls-Royces, a manservant, and a 300-year-old chateau in Provence. Buffet was named Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1973, the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits. The Bernard Buffet Museum in Surugadaira, Japan opened in the same year. At the request of the French postal administration in 1978, he designed a stamp, upon which occasion the Post Museum arranged a retrospective of his works. For decades, he participated in a vast number of both group and solo exhibitions around the world, including Japan, Switzerland, and Taiwan. Buffet struggled with Parkinson’s disease toward the end of his career and was thus no longer able to produce his art. In 1999, he committed suicide at his Tourtour home.

The style of Buffet’s later paintings did not change much from his early work, however the world’s perception of him changed considerably in that time. The avant-garde of contemporary art went in new directions during the 1950s and 60s, and while Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism cleansed representation from the canvas, Buffet felt called to continue representational and figurative expression. His body of work fell under accusations of being quaint or kitsch and even declared by some art critics as poor taste, and there was backlash for his lavish lifestyle. Despite his popularity having faded, there has been a recent revival of approval for Buffet in academic opinion and in the art market, with many of his works recognized as masterpieces, and the man himself acknowledged as one of greatest 20th century artists. His work is in the permanent collections of the Tate Gallery in London, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville Paris and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and two museums in Japan devoted to his work. Buffet also worked in engraving, lithography, and occasionally sculpture and designed sets for ballets for the Paris Opera. He produced over 8,000 paintings and prints that continue to inspire and affect others worldwide.

American Fine Art, Inc. is proud to feature the original works and limited editions of Bernard Buffet. Visit our 12,000 sq. ft. showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona or call today. Our website is offered only as a limited place to browse or refresh your memory and is not a reflection of our current inventory. To learn more about collecting, pricing, value or any other art information, please contact one of our International Art Consultants. We look forward to giving you the one on one attention you deserve when building your fine art collection.  We hope you find our website helpful and look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale soon.