Bernard Buffet (July 10, 1928 - October 4, 1999) was a French painter.

Buffet was born in Paris, France, and studied art there at the ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts (National School of the Fine Arts) and worked in the studio of the painter Eugene Narbonne. Among his classmates were Maurice Boitel and Louis Vuillermoz.

Sustained by the picture-dealer Maurice Garnier, Buffet produced religious pieces, landscapes, portraits and still-lifes. In 1946, he had his first painting shown, a self-portrait, at the Salon des Moins de Trente Ans at the Galerie Beaux-Arts. He had at least one major exhibition every year. In 1955, he was awarded the first prize by the magazine Connaissance des arts, which named the 10 best post-war artists. In 1958, at the age of 30, the first retrospective of his work was held at the Galerie Charpentier.

Buffet was married to the writer and singer Annabel Buffet (nee Schwob). His daughter Virginie was born in 1962, and his daughter Danielle in 1963. His son Nicolas was born in 1973, the same year that he was named "Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur". One of Buffet's disciples, Jean Claude Gaugy, was the father of Linear Expressionism.

November 23, 1973 the Bernard Buffet Museum was inaugurated; it was founded by Kiichiro Okano, in Surugadaira, Japan.

He committed suicide at his home in Tourtour, Southern France, on October 4, 1999. Buffet was suffering from Parkinson's disease and was no longer able to work. Police said that Buffet died around 4 p.m after putting his head in a plastic bag attached around his neck with tape.

-Wikipedia