Bernard Buffet

Bernard BUFFET (Bernard Léon Edmond Buffet), 1928–1999 (French)
Painter, set designer, watercolorist, sculptor, illustrator.

In Paris, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts and joined the studio of painter Eugène Narbonne. There, he became friends with fellow students Maurice Boitel and Louis Vuillermoz. In 1947, he exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, and that same year, the French State purchased his first painting for the National Museum of Modern Art. In 1952, he was awarded the Prix Antral by the City of Paris.

Rejecting all forms of abstract art and Impressionism, Buffet embraced bold black lines and vivid colors in an expressionist style. He painted a wide range of subjects, including figures, clowns, animals, nudes, landscapes, interiors, still lifes, flowers, and religious scenes. He painted all over the world and had a special connection to Japan, where an entire museum is dedicated to his work—so much so that his ashes were scattered there.

His prolific body of work continues to keep him present and relevant in the collective imagination, even after his death.

Museums: Clermont-Ferrand, Higashino, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Vatican.
Exhibited in: New York, Chicago, Palm Beach (Florida), Montreal, Vancouver, Tokyo, Osaka, Johannesburg, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Warsaw, Basel, Zurich, Geneva, Rome, Venice, Milan, Madrid, Paris, Lyon, Toulon...