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The XXth Century
BIOGRAPHY
Bernard BUFFET (1928-1999)
Bernard Buffet is recognised as a master in his art, and his paintings are collected in the most famous museums around the world. The Surugadaira Museum (Japan) is specially dedicated to his works and displays around 1,000 of his works. His paintings are strong and breathtakingly unforgettable. Bernard Buffet’s style can be recognised among others by a network of “dry” straight lines grey faces, wrinkled foreheads, scarce straight hair, tensed hands. His characters seemed crucified.
MUSEUM : Surugadaira (mus. Bernard Buffet), Clermont-Ferrand, Cluny, Marseille (mus. Cantini), Paris (mus. d’Art Moderne), Rome (mus. du Vatican), Toronto, Troyes, Villeneuve d’Asq, Genève, Lille.
Réf. 6334
Oil on canvas
Signed ‘Bernard Buffet 55’ upper right
DIMENSIONS :
– 130 x 97 cm (156 x 124 cm encadré)
– 51 1/8 x 38 1/4 in. (61 3/8 x 48 7/8 in. framed)
Certificate Galerie Maurice Garnier
PROVENANCE :
-Galerie Drouant David
-Galerie Drouant David
This 1955 painting by Bernard Buffet depicts a chess and backgammon set placed on a small pedestal table, rendered in the artist’s distinctive austere style. The composition is simple and meticulously structured, with clearly defined outlines and muted tones of gray, black, and brown. Everyday objects—a game box, flasks, glasses, bottle caps, and dice—are arranged with geometric precision. Despite the subject’s apparent banality, Buffet creates a sense of stillness and tension. The sparse background emphasizes the isolation of the objects, giving them a solemn, almost melancholic presence. The thick black contours and the cold palette contribute to an atmosphere of restraint and introspection. Through this still life, Buffet transforms ordinary items into symbols of quiet contemplation and existential solitude.
