Background
Bernard Buffet was born on July 10, 1928, in Paris, in the Batignolles area. He was the son of Charles Buffet and Blanche Souveraine Emma Colombe.
Bernard Buffet
14 Rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris, France
École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (National School of Fine Arts) where Bernard Buffet studied art from 1943 to 1945.
Bernard Buffet with friends.
Bernard Buffet with his wife Annabel Schwob at Chateau l’Arc, near Aix-en-Provence. Photo by Dean Loomis.
Bernard Buffet in his studio. Photo by Francois Pages, Paris Match Archive.
Bernard Buffet at work. Courtesy Maurice Jarnoux.
Bernard Buffet (second right) with (from left) painter and sculptor Albert Ayme, singer Guy Béart, and dancers Zizi Jeanmaire and Roland Petit.
145 Boulevard Malesherbes, 75017 Paris
Lycée Carnot where Bernard Buffet studied till 1939.
The Officer's Legion of Honor which Bernard Buffet received in 1973.
artist etcher lithographer painter
Bernard Buffet was born on July 10, 1928, in Paris, in the Batignolles area. He was the son of Charles Buffet and Blanche Souveraine Emma Colombe.
Bernard Buffet spent his childhood in Paris. He attended Lycee Carnot till he was expelled from the institution in 1939 for his being indifferent to studies.
However, Buffet’s artistic talent allowed him to enter École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (National School of the Fine Arts) four years later. Simultaneously, the young artist developed his skills in the studio of a painter and art dealer Eugène Narbonne. Louis Vuillermoz and Maurice Boitel were among his classmates.
Buffet gave up studies at School in 1945.
Bernard Buffet emerged to the art scene very early, at the age of 18. In 1946, he debuted as an artist with a self-portrait demonstrated at the Salon des Moins de Trente Ans at the Galerie Beaux-Arts. The following year, he participated at the group exhibition at the Salon of Independents with 'L'homme Accoude', and had his first solo exhibition at a book shop in Paris.
It was a turning point in Buffet’s career. Raymond Cogniat bought his 'Nature Morte au Poulet' for the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris. The artist was also noted by Pierre Descaruge who became the big supporter of his art, and later added him to the list of the participants of ‘Presses Litteraires de France’. Since then, Bernard Buffet exhibited regularly having at least one show a year.
In 1948, the painter signed a contract with Emmanuel David’s gallery David et Garnier which led him to international recognition. The same year, Buffet’s canvas ‘La Ravaudeuse de Filed’ (The Ravager of Filed) was included at the Salon d’Automne (Autumn Salon) exhibition. Four years later, Buffet tried himself as an illustrator and produced images for Comte de Lautréamont’s ‘Les Chants de Maldoror’. At the age of thirty, the artist had his first retrospective held at the Charpentier Gallery.
In 1978, the artist collaborated with the French postal administration which asked him to design a stamp ‘Le Pont des Arts et l'Institut de France’. La Musée de La Poste (Post Museum in Paris) organized a retrospective of his art in return for the service.
In 1986, Bernard Buffet moved with his family to the Languedoc Roussillon region and lived there till the end of his life.
Bateaux de Pêche
Laissez les Jacasser
Le Cirque: Acrobate à la Bicyclette
Le Travesti
Self-portrait n° 11
Les Folles: La Mariée
Ombelles dans un Vase
Galerie Visconti
Nature Morte
Orang-Outan Femelle
Montagne Sainte-Victoire
Lapin et Casserole Rouge
Horreur de la Guerre: Les Fusillés
Les Grues d'Hokkaido: Deux Oiseaux Combattants
Femme au Poulet
Le Museum: Le Papillon Rouge
Still Life with Fish, II
Paravent: Les Instruments de Musique
Tête Rousse
Paysage aux Ombelles
Don Quichotte: Les Duègnes
La Mort #5
Le Sommeil d'après Courbet
Le Cristal Building
Les Ecorchés: Tête d'Ecorché
Le Cirque: Deux Clowns
La Casserole Rouge
La Poissonnerie
Deux Hommes Nus
Bouquet
Maison dans la Campagne
Pietà
La Barricade
Bouquet au Vase Chinois
L'enfer de Dante: Damnés Pris dans les Glaces
Vingt Mille lieues sous les Mers: Le Combat avec le Requin
Still Life
Clown's Head
Femme au Poêle
Torero Main Levée
Cynocéphale
Le Carrousel du Louvre
Femmes Déshabillées, Deux Femmes
Plage
Bernard Buffet didn’t hold much truck with abstract art.
His works dealt with a variety of topics, including the history of art, death, sexuality, popular culture, and politics. The artist reflected the events and the personalities of his time.
Bernard Buffet was a member of the anti-abstract group L'homme Témoin.
Physical Characteristics: Bernard Buffet was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the end of his life. It affected his ability to paint.
Bernard Buffet was married twice. His first wife became an artist and writer Agnes Nanquette in 1948. Their marriage lasted one year.
On December 12, 1958, Buffet formed a family with Annabel Schwob, a French actress and author. The family produced three children named Virginie, Danielle, and Nicolas.