Bernard Buffet (1928 - 1999)

Lot 48
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Estimation :
40000 - 60000 EUR
Bernard Buffet (1928 - 1999)
The Rabbits, 1961 Oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left, countersigned and annotated on the back "Pour Luc Noël Bernard, Bonne année 1978 B.B." 81 x 130 cm 31 57/64 x 51 3/16 in. A certificate of authenticity from the Galerie Maurice Garnier will be given to the buyer. PROVENANCE Private collection, France EXHIBITION Retrospective "Bonjour Monsieur Buffet", Musée Courbet, Ornans, 1993 BIBLIOGRAPHY Catalogue of the retrospective "Bonjour Monsieur Buffet!", Musée Courbet, Ornans, 1993, reproduced under number 32 From 1956 onwards, Bernard Buffet enriched his style, which had previously been characterised by dark colours, reflecting the post-war period. Nervous graphics, sharp writing, and elongated bodies remain, but the compositions with reduced tonalities give way to brilliant colour. The brushstroke thickens to give way to a thick, heavy paste that can form drips reminiscent of gestural abstraction. "When I was young, I had perhaps a romantic side, I defied life with death without being aware of it. Today, as I grow older, without really wanting to, I provoke death with life. I need colour." Bernard Buffet during his interview with Jean-Marie Tasset for Le Figaro, 1992 This is the period of the flayed in which Les Lapins (The Rabbits) was painted in 1961. This period, which began in 1956 with Nature morte à la raie (Still life with a ray), placed him in the pictorial tradition of Chardin and Courbet. The animals he painted were bought at the market. However, he does not always respect the anatomical structures but transforms the bodies into hallucinated beings. The black outline is abandoned to explore the colour and the matter, in impastos that scar the flesh. With this work, he revisits the Still Life with Skinned Rabbit that he had painted in 1949 and reiterates his reflection on the anguish of passing time and on death. This work was intended for Luc Fournol, a photographer and friend of the Buffets, as shown by the mention "for Luc" on the back of the canvas. The life of Bernard Buffet and his wife was illustrated by this photographer, who published books containing photographs of their work in the studio and of their life together, feeding the legend that was created around the artist.
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