Autoportrait n° 11 1981

Editor: So, this is "Autoportrait n° 11" by Bernard Buffet, painted in 1981, using oil paint. The way the features are exaggerated, especially the eyes and the almost severe look, gives it such an intense, almost unnerving feel. What do you make of it? Curator: Unnerving is spot on! It's like staring into a funhouse mirror, but the reflection is our own mortality. Buffet throws expressionism at us with such force that you feel it deep in your bones. The stark lines, the sickly yellow background...it's a scream, a raw emotional expulsion onto canvas. Notice how he renders his features... almost like he's dissecting himself. Do you pick up on that? Editor: Yes, absolutely! The almost skeletal rendering, the sunken eyes. It's a bit unsettling how he turns himself into an almost grotesque figure. Is it supposed to be this…exaggerated, do you think? Curator: Oh, exaggeration is Buffet's entire opera! He's turning the volume way up to eleven on the anxieties of modern life. This isn't just a face; it's a commentary. He was often criticised for being too commercial, too popular, but I think that hides a real vulnerability, laid bare in these self-portraits. There's an honesty, almost brutal in its candor. Editor: That’s a perspective I hadn’t considered, actually. The rawness makes much more sense now, it's a statement in its own right! Curator: Precisely! It's less about capturing likeness and more about dissecting the soul, or what remains of it after the world's chewed it up and spat it out. Editor: This makes me see so much more than I originally did, thank you. Curator: Anytime! It is fascinating to witness someone lay themselves so vulnerably out, it opens new avenues in our minds.