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Bernard Buffet (1928 – 1999)
An expressionist painter
A child prodigy …
At the age of fifteen, Bernard Buffet won the prestigious entrance exam for admission to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1946, he exhibited his first painting, a self-portrait, at the under thirties exhibition. The following year, he presented his first individual exposition and the State bought “Nature morte au poulet” from him for the National Museum of Modern Art. When he was 20, he earned two contracts: one at the Drouant-David gallery and the other at Maurice Garnier's gallery. In 1955, the magazine “Connaissance des Arts” ranked him first following a referendum to nominate the top ten post-war painters. Since 1958, many retrospectives have been dedicated to him across the world in Paris, Berlin, Tokyo, Kyoto, Moscow, Seoul, Taiwan, etc.
…studio painter
Bernard Buffet mastered drawing. His style, based on strong lines, aimed to distort reality in order to inspire an emotional reaction in the viewer. His subjects were diversified: he was as interested in people, nudes, still-life, as in animals or in landscapes. He was also an illustrator, engraver and painter of theatre sets. As a studio painter, he relied essentially on postcards and photographs to produce more than 8000 pieces. In 1971, he was appointed Chevalier of the Legion of Honour and promoted officer in 1993. In 1974, he was elected to the Academy of Arts. No longer able to paint due to Parkinson’s disease, he took his own life in 1999.
