Lapin et casserole rouge 1948

Curator: Bernard Buffet’s 1948 painting, “Lapin et casserole rouge,” which translates to “Rabbit and Red Saucepan,” presents an unsettling tableau rendered in oil paint. The textural quality feels amplified by visible impasto techniques. Editor: It's strikingly bleak. The starkness is palpable. The colors are so subdued, except for that aggressively red saucepan. It all feels quite confrontational and the lines are so assertive, so raw. Curator: Buffet, working in post-war France, certainly reflected the austerity and trauma of the period. Consider how resources and food were rationed during wartime. The act of preparing food itself transformed. Editor: The composition draws you in. The hanging rabbit dominates the scene—its almost crucified pose set against that grid-like background. It is positioned as a modern-day still life with this grid both supporting and imprisoning it. Curator: And it's more than a formal grid; I believe it suggests societal structures and controls impinging even upon the domestic sphere of meal preparation. We see how these elements of war shaped ordinary lives. Editor: The saucepan, placed next to the dead rabbit, takes on this really dark presence. And it’s not just a functional object—it's become imbued with so much meaning. What stands out is the tension between its formal aesthetic and the symbolic violence inherent to it. Curator: Right, violence that is, at the time, perhaps very mundane? The saucepan also suggests a communal sharing. It contrasts with this individualized struggle. Editor: Agreed. This interplay adds a subtle sense of dread and this formal element intensifies the subject matter so that the saucepan reflects something universal. Buffet uses such striking linearity that cuts like a knife between form and form. It almost dissects them to offer this complex image. Curator: Ultimately, “Lapin et casserole rouge” operates as both a portrait of subsistence living and an allegory for survival within a world marred by conflict, consumption, and inequality. Buffet uses his sharp strokes, but it may reflect a painful and unsettling time. Editor: It's interesting to consider these formal juxtapositions; ultimately these choices elevate this image from a picture into an unnerving expression.