Bernard Buffet

Bernard Buffet was born on 10th July 1928 in the Batignolles area of Paris, and he was the son of Charles Buffet and of Blanche Colombe.

To his admirers, Bernard Buffet represented pure genius. He was accepted by the École des Beaux-Arts at the age of 15, introduced to collectors by the painter Aujame and honored at the Prix de la Critique at the age of 20. Bernard Buffet is a master of miserabilism and his work found its place in the most important museums of the world; there is even a museum dedicated to his work in Japan, in Surugadairan, with almost 1000 of his artworks.

Bernard Buffet can be an example of the hiatus between the French and contemporary art. A popularist par excellence, Bernard Buffet was loved by the public, and hated by the elite who reproached him for being too prolific: 8000 paintings, watercolors, drawings, litographsand prints. He resembles Renoir and Picasso in this aspect, as they were also very prolific painters.

His personality began to reveal itself in 1947, with his first angular characters that placed him in the miserabilist expressionist movement, with Francis Gruber and Georges Rouault. His first encounter with Emmanuel David, that represented the origin of his international career, took place in 1948. He had an exhibition at the Drouant-David Gallery in 1949.

As pigments were expensive, he tried to save money and used very little on his canvases. So there was little color, and mostly grey, black and green tones.

His works are strong, poignant, the drawing is elongated, reminding us of a supplication. The style of Bernard Buffet can be identified by the framework of straight lines that became his pictorial system. Grey faces, wrinkled foreheads, thinning hair, contracted hands - his characters all seem to be crucified. This new personality is much acclaimed and the style of Bernard Buffet established itself.

On 4th October 1999 Bernard Buffet committed suicide, as he was not able to paint anymore because he was suffering of Parkinson's disease.