Buffet, Bernard (1928- ) , French painter, whose figurative paintings and prints express a sense of anxiety associated with the philosophical movement known as existentialism. Buffet was born in Paris, where he attended the École des Beaux-Arts between 1944 and 1945. His early work, influenced by French painter Francis Gruber, attracted critical attention almost immediately, and in 1948 Buffet was the joint winner, with Bernard Lorjou, of the Prix de la Critique, a major French art prize. His commitment to realistic, rather than abstract, art was confirmed in 1949, when he joined Homme-Témoin, a group of realist painters devoted to depicting the common man.

Buffet's work focuses on tragic subjects, many taken from the biblical story of the Passion of Jesus Christ. His typically angular figures and somber colors can be seen in Deposition from the Cross (1946, Pompidou Center, Paris). He also frequently executed scenes representing the horrors of warfare, and in 1965 exhibited in Paris a series of paintings of flayed figures. His later work includes landscapes as well as expressive narrative paintings.

Buffet's work is notable for its synthesis of modern pictorial forms with traditional techniques and subject matter, as well as for the artist's ability to capture the troubled mood of French society in the era after World War II (1939-1945). A museum devoted to Buffet's work opened in 1973 near Mishima, Japan.
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