Coastal Town with Lighthouse, South of France, 1969 , Watercolor and ink on paper, 19.6 x 25.4 inches
Bernard Buffet was a French painter who integrated aspects of Fauvism, Naturalism, Realism and Expressionism into his jagged and somber paintings. His work focused on tangible subject matter like still lives and landscapes, reducing said images into an objective state of abstraction. His imagery, at once easily legible and incredibly haunting, combined many competing influences at a pivotal moment in modern art. Later in life, Buffet was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and rendered unable to work. He committed suicide at 71 years old, yet his work lives on today.