Bernard Buffet was a French artist, working as a painter, lithographer, etcher, designer and sculptor. His paintings covered a wide range of subjects, mainly landscapes, portraits and still-life and he also produced some religious pieces.

He was born in Paris and an early recognition of his drawing talent earned him a place at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1944 at the age of sixteen. Within a year he showed his work at the Salon des Moins de Trente Ans. By 1947 he was a member of both the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d’Automne, and in the same year he shared the Grand Prix de la Critique. By the time he was twenty he was already a highly-acclaimed painter.

Buffet was given first place in a poll in 1955 by the journal ‘Connaissance’ which listed the ten best postwar artists, and in 1958 was given his first retrospective, at the age of 30. In 1974 he was admitted to the Académie des Beaux Arts and appointed officer of the Légion d’honneur. Over the years numerous world-wide exhibitions took place.

The patron Kiichiro Okano set up a museum for his works in a park near Mount Fuji in 1973. In 1981 Buffet visited Japan, where he was regarded as a man of some account. The artist’s work consists of more than 8000 paintings as well as numerous printed graphics. He also worked as an illustrator and stage designer. In 1999 Buffet, who suffered from Parkinson’s Disease and was no longer able to work, committed suicide in his house in Tourtour. Bernard Buffet’s paintings could be said to be a reflection of his own personality: individualistic, elegant, sober, solitary, and melancholy. The harsh and gothic lines which give his work such starkness and tension make it atmospheric, powerful, and instantly recognisable.