Bernard Buffet was born on 10 July 1928 in Paris, more precisely in the Batignolles district. Buffet was a French artist, working as a painter, lithographer, etcher, designer and sculptor. He began his studies at the Lycée Carnot from 1939 to 1943.

Bernard Buffet began painting at the age of 10. After being expelled from the Lycée Carnot in 1939, the artist attended evening classes in 1942. It was Mr Darbefeuille who introduced him to drawing. At the age of 15, he was accepted at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. At that time, he spent 2 years in the studio of the painter Eugène Narbonne.

In 1945, the young prodigy works alone in the maid’s room of the family apartment. The following year, he exhibited his first painting representing a self-portrait at the ‘Salon des moins de trente ans’ at the Galerie des beaux-arts. In 1947, he exhibited ‘L’Homme accoudé’ at the ‘Salon des indépendants’, then in December of the same year his first private exhibition was held.

During his first exhibition, the young expressionist painter makes his first sale for the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris. This transaction took place through the intermediary of Raymond Cogniat and the work purchased for the Parisian gallery was the painting ‘Nature morte au poulet’. In April 1948, the young artist presented ‘Le Buveur’ for the young painting prize competition. Although he did not win the main prize, this allowed him to make him known to Dr. Maurice Girardin. The contemporary art collector acquired 17 of his paintings between 1948 and 1953. Still in 1948, Emmanuel David offered him an exclusive contract which was then shared with Maurice Garnier. In 1952, the artist was awarded the Antral Prize.

The romance between Bernard Buffet and Annabelle Schwob began in May 1958. Annabelle was a muse for the artist who devoted an exhibition entitled ‘Thirty Times Annabelle Schwob’ in 1961. On March 13, 1974 Bernard Buffet was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts. After several years of fighting Parkinson’s disease, Bernard Buffet committed suicide by asphyxiation on October 4, 1999. His act was committed in his workshop at the Domaine de la Baume near Tourtour in the Var.