This exquisite lithograph by Bernard Buffet (1928–1999), titled Nature morte avec une bouteille (Still Life with a Bottle), originates from the 1967 album Bernard Buffet, Lithographs 1952-1966, published by Tudor Publishing Company, New York, under the direction of Fernand Mourlot, Paris, and printed by Mourlot Freres, Paris, November 1967. The composition exemplifies Buffet’s austere poetic vision, presenting everyday objects through rigid structure, stark contour, and controlled spatial tension that reflect his mature graphic language and existential restraint.
Executed as a lithograph on velin Acropole paper, papier fabrique par les Papeteries de Renage, this work measures 12.375 x 9.5 inches (31.43 x 24.13 cm). Signed in the plate and unnumbered as issued. The printing reflects the technical authority of the Mourlot Freres atelier, long regarded as the foremost fine art lithographic studio of the twentieth century.
Artwork Details:
Artist: Bernard Buffet (1928–1999)
Title: Nature morte avec une bouteille (Still Life with a Bottle), from Bernard Buffet, Lithographs 1952-1966, 1967
Medium: Lithograph on velin Acropole, papier fabrique par les Papeteries de Renage
Dimensions: 12.375 x 9.5 inches (31.43 x 24.13 cm)
Inscription: Signed in the plate and unnumbered as issued
Date: 1967
Publisher: Tudor Publishing Company, New York, under the direction of Fernand Mourlot, Paris
Printer: Mourlot Freres, Paris
Catalogue raisonne reference: Buffet, Bernard, and Charles Sorlier. Bernard Buffet: Lithographe I-II. M. Trinckvel, 1979-1987, illustration 103-115
Condition: Well preserved, consistent with age and medium
Provenance: From the 1967 album Bernard Buffet, Lithographs 1952-1966, published by Tudor Publishing Company, New York
Notes:
Excerpted from the album, Executed in November 1967 on the press of Fernand Mourlot, Paris, France, this work has been printed on velin Acropole manufactured by Papeteries de Renage. The typography is by the Imprimerie Union. CXXV press-numbered examples were printed on velin d'Arches. Each includes two additional original lithographs by Bernard Buffet, bearing the signature of the artist.
About the Publication:
Bernard Buffet, Lithographs 1952-1966, published in 1967 by Tudor Publishing Company in New York under the artistic direction of Fernand Mourlot, stands as one of the most authoritative surveys of Buffet’s graphic production. Conceived to present a comprehensive view of his lithographic work to an international audience, the album reflects the high standards of Parisian art publishing in the mid twentieth century, emphasizing clarity, tonal fidelity, and elegant design. The collaboration with Mourlot Freres ensured exceptional fidelity to Buffet’s line, preserving the sharp contrasts and architectural rigor that define his style. Carefully produced with attention to paper quality, typography, and printing precision, the publication documents more than a decade of Buffet’s evolution as a printmaker and occupies a central position in the scholarship and collecting of his graphic oeuvre. Today, the album remains among the most sought after examples, valued for its documentation of one of the era’s most recognizable and debated artistic voices.
About the Artist:
Bernard Buffet (1928–1999) was a French painter and printmaker whose unmistakable linear style, technical precision, and emotional intensity made him one of the most influential and prolific artists of the 20th century. Born in Paris, Buffet entered the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts at fifteen and soon developed a visual language defined by taut black outlines, muted tones, and haunting stillness that reflected the existential climate of postwar Europe. Influenced by Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ray, Buffet forged a path that blended classical rigor with modern expression. Emerging in the late 1940s as a prodigy of French modernism, he rose to fame after his work L'Homme accoude was acquired by the Musee National d'Art Moderne, and by his early twenties, he was being heralded as a successor to Picasso. His stark depictions of Parisian streets, still lifes, religious scenes, clowns, and self portraits embodied the human struggle with isolation and resilience, capturing the postwar spirit with both intellect and empathy. Buffet’s disciplined draftsmanship, emotional gravity, and refusal to abandon figuration during the dominance of abstraction set him apart from his contemporaries and aligned him with the existentialism of Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he achieved international acclaim, exhibiting across Europe, America, and Asia, and in 1955 won the Prix de la Critique. His prolific output of over eight thousand works across painting, lithography, and illustration secured his place as one of the defining artistic voices of his generation. His highest auction record was achieved by Le Cirque (1961), which sold for 13.6 million USD at Christies Hong Kong on May 26, 2022.
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