Lithograph in colors on wove paper
France, 1969
Bernard Buffet (1928-1999) – French realist painter and printmaker
Signed in pencil and numbered ‘XI/XXV
Full margins
Dimensions: 22 ¼ x 29 ¾ in. (56.5 x 75.6 cm.)
Good condition
Estimate $1,500-$2,500

Bernard Buffet (French, 1928-1999)

Embodying Jean-Paul Sartre’s Existentialism and Albert Camus’s Absurdism, Bernard Buffet’s painting conveyed the anxiety that permeated France during the Nazi occupation and came to dominate the post-war figurative art scene. A member of a group called L’Homme Témoin (The Witness) along with Bernard Lorjout and André Minaux, Buffet developed a realist style infused with social criticism, featuring a restrained palette and black outlines. He is best known for his grim “Horror of War” series and myriad streetscapes and interior scenes populated by angular, emotionless figures. Self-portraits, religious scenes, still lifes also figure among his oeuvre, which extends to lithography, engraving, and sculpture. While Buffet continued to enjoy success as a commercial artist until a debilitating illness prompted him to commit suicide, his work fell out of favor among critics in the 1960s and remains relatively unknown.

Condition

Pale toning throughout and pale scattered foxing in upper right and lower left margins. Minor soft handling crease left margin corner. Remains of hinges verso. Otherwise in generally good condition.

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