Bernard Buffet
Biography
Bernard Buffet (1928–1999) was one of the most distinctive voices in modern French art, known for his immediately signature style of bold black lines and a restrained colour palette. Buffet's figurative compositions juxtaposed the abstraction style which dominated the art world and became an active member of the anti-abstraction group L'homme Témoin (The Witness-Man). His characteristic angular forms and somber palette earned him early global acclaim as they acted as a powerful representation of post-war emotional devastation.
Throughout his career, Buffet received prestigious awards, including being made an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur in 1973 and election to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1974. His artworks are held in collections of the world's most prominent institutions, including the Tate Modern in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris.
Tête d'écorché (1964) stands as a haunting masterwork within Buffet's seminal Les Ecorchés (The Flayed) series. This monumental piece highlights his mastery of anatomical studies, rendered through his signature artistic approach. Écorché refers to anatomical figures depicted without skin; a concept Buffet transforms through his unflinching examination of the human form. His highly impastoed composition captures what critics have called the 'vertigo of the elemental,' reflecting the profound anguish that permeated post-World War Europe. With technical precision, Buffet conveys his subject's emotional state through a gaze that appears both bewildered with fright and consumed by anger, mirroring the collective trauma experienced in the aftermath of global conflict.
Works
Exhibitions
Related content
