Nature Morte

Bernard BUFFET (1928-1999) 

Nature Morte

oil on canvas
19 x 23 inches
framed: 25 x 32 inches
signed
Painted in 1998

Renowned for his figurative paintings, French artist Bernard Buffet was born and raised in Paris. He studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts for two years, earning critical acclaim early in his career. His first exhibited work, a self-portrait, was shown in 1946 at the Salon des Moins de Trente Ans at the Galerie Beaux-Arts. The following year, Buffet held his first solo exhibition at the Art Impressions bookshop.

During a period when abstraction was gaining international prominence, Buffet championed figuration. Alongside Bernard Lorjou and André Minaux, he co-founded the French anti-abstraction group L’Homme Témoin (“The Witness-Man”). Buffet’s works—often landscapes, portraits, and still lifes—are characterized by sharp graphic lines, slashes, and spikes, paired with a muted color palette that reflects a post-war sense of melancholy.

Today, his works are featured in prestigious collections, including the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, the Tate, Centre Pomidou, Paris, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.