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Bernard BuffetFrench artist
Date of Birth: 10.07.1928
Country: ![]() |
Content:
- Biography of Bernard Buffet
- Early Life and Education
- Miserabilism and Later Works
- Engravings and Sculpture
- Death
Biography of Bernard Buffet
Bernard Buffet (1928–1999) was a French artist who gained fame for his melancholic and somber portraits, genres, and still lifes. He was known for his elongated figures with angular and alienated proportions, set in deliberately uncomfortable and sparse interiors. Buffet was born on July 10, 1928, in Paris, into a family of a factory director.
Early Life and Education
Buffet attended evening courses at the School of Drawing in 1943 and later studied at the School of Fine Arts from 1943 to 1945. It was during this time that he began to gain recognition for his melancholic and monochromatic portraits, genres, and still lifes. His works featured elongated figures with angular proportions in deliberately uncomfortable and sparse interiors. Some notable examples include "Man with a Skull" (1947, Musée Garnier, Paris) and "Artist and Model" (1948, National Museum of Modern Art, Paris). He also shocked the public with his religious compositions, such as "Descent from the Cross" (1948, Musée Garnier).
Miserabilism and Later Works
Buffet was often associated with neorealist tendencies, although critics more commonly classified him as a proponent of miserabilism. During this period, Buffet became a key figure in this artistic movement. In his later works, Buffet's pieces became more vibrant but still maintained a minimal use of color. His compositions often grew in size, forming numerous series, including "Passion of Christ" (1951), "Circus" (1956), "Parisian Landscapes" (1957), "Joan of Arc" (1958), "New York Landscapes" (1959), "Birds" (1960), "People with Flayed Skin" (1965), "Bullfight" (1967), "Madmen" (1970), "Hell from Dante's Divine Comedy" (1977), "French Revolution" (1978), "Don Quixote" (1989), "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne (1990), and others. These works consistently combined salon effects with Buffet's distinct style, characterized by its rigid and graphically sharp elements, as well as his large signature.
Engravings and Sculpture
Buffet frequently explored the medium of engravings, using drypoint and other techniques. He created various illustrative series, including those inspired by the texts of Lotremont, Jean Cocteau, and Françoise Sagan. Starting from 1964, Buffet began translating certain motifs from his paintings into sculptures. In 1973, a personal museum dedicated to Buffet's artworks was opened in Surugadai, Japan.
Death
Bernard Buffet died by suicide on October 4, 1999, in Tourtour. Despite his tragic end, his art continues to be appreciated for its unique style and the emotional depth it conveys.