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To be sold at our Important Sale: Modern & Contemporary Art + Design 13 – 15 May 2025
Lot 671 Bernard Buffet (France 1928‑1999). ”Château de Blois”. Signed and dated Bernard Buffet 69 upper right. Oil on panel, 54 x 73 cm.
With stamp ”Maurice Garnier” on the reverse.
This work is recorded in the Bernard Buffet Archive at the Galerie Maurice Garnier, Paris.
600.000 – 800.000 SEK
€ 54.000 – 73.000
Bukowskis, Stockholm, 8‑11 November 1972, lot 171.
A Swedish private collection, acquired at the above sale.
Thence by descent to the present owner.
Yann le Pichon, Bernard Buffet 1962‑1981, edition Maurice Garnier, 1986, no. 669, illustrated p. 228.
Famous for his colourful landscapes, intriguing portraits and elegant still-lives, Bernard Buffet was a bold rejecter of abstract art. At a time when abstract art dominated the contemporary art scene, Buffet joined the anti-abstraction group L’homme Témoin and argued for the importance of figurative and representational art. Bernard Buffet excelled with his intense compositions, evoking a sense of nostalgia, fearlessness and passion. In the late 1940s, Buffet exhibited the painting “Le Buveur” at the Jeune Peinture exhibition organised at the Galerie Drouant-David. Emmanuel David asked Buffet to sign an exclusive contract with the gallery, shared together with the famous art dealer Maurice Garnier. In Maurice Garnier, Buffet found a tenacious devotee. Beginning in 1949, yearly exhibitions were held in February at the Galerie Drouant-David, and as of 1957 at the Galerie David et Garnier, and finally at Galerie Maurice Garnier.
In 1969, Bernard Buffet painted a number of works from the enchanting Loire Valley, among them the present ”Château de Blois”. The Royal Château of Blois is located in the city center of Blois and is famous for its different architectural styles. It was formerly the residence of the Counts of Blois, and the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her army against the English, who conquered Orléans the previous year. The chateau is also famous worldwide for its spectacular spiral staircase at the wing of François I. The staircase, with its three floors of balconies designed in a gothic style, is a true masterpiece. ”Château de Blois” presents a great example of Buffet’s recognized painterly style. The lines in this energetic composition are black and powerful, creating an almost mysterious atmosphere around the pink castle. Buffet worked with a limited range of colours, such as the bright pink in the tower, dots of vibrant yellow on the facade and different shades of black. Arguably a magnificent colourist, Buffet manages to express the true essence of the nature by the lack of details and unrestrained brushstrokes. In many ways, his characteristic gothic and expressionist technique reflects his own elegant and individualistic personality. By returning to his compositions and creating series of works, he was able to investigate different themes thoroughly. The artist explained: “Painting, we do not talk about it, we do not analyze it, we feel it.”
Born in Paris on 10 July 1928, Bernard Buffet gained early critical acclaim through his recognisable stylistic manner and prolific output. At the age of 18, Buffet was nominated by Connaissance des Arts magazine as one of the top ten post-war artists and the same year he exhibited his first painting, a self-portrait, at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris. His first retrospective exhibition was held in 1958 at the Galerie Charpentier and throughout his extensive career, Buffet participated in numerous important solo and group exhibitions. Most of Buffet’s oeuvre features portraits, still-lives, landscapes and historical subjects, showing highly stylized figures painted with expressive black lines and a vivid colour palette. His earlier work represents the emotional state of the post-war generation and he was extremely prolific during his lifetime, painting over 8.000 works. Buffet has been quoted stating: “I believe in working hard. Painting is serious. A vice, not a play thing.” Over the years, his works have remained consistently popular and are held in some of the most notable museums around the world, including Tate Modern in London, Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Bernard Buffet Museum in Japan. During his lifetime he was also awarded several prestigious honors, such as being made an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur in 1973 and being inducted to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1974, the institution he studied at as a young artist.
”Château de Blois” offers an exciting opportunity to acquire a work from Buffet’s 1960s period, showing a stunning example of Bernard Buffet’s own form of bold expressionism. It has remained within the same private Swedish collection ever since it was acquired at the sale at Bukowskis, Stockholm in 1972. ■