Les Folles: La mariée 1970

Curator: Bernard Buffet's "Les Folles: La mariée," created in 1970, offers a strikingly peculiar vision. The oil painting presents a gathering of figures in what appears to be some sort of disquieting theatrical tableau. Editor: My immediate impression is one of fragmented discomfort. There's a discordant symmetry in the way the figures are arranged, and a palpable tension conveyed through their gaunt expressions and the sharp, angular lines. Curator: Absolutely. Buffet's use of line is quite distinctive. The starkness of the lines, combined with the somewhat muted palette, create a sense of alienation. Look closely at the use of hatching and cross-hatching; it’s quite masterful. The structural rigidity creates a stark geometry. Editor: Considering the social climate of the 1970s, might this not be a reflection of societal anxieties and disillusionment? The skeletal bride figure in the centre is particularly evocative. There’s an engagement with ideas of mortality and a questioning of conventional social constructs. The scene feels like a backstage drama, perhaps reflecting the changing dynamics of social theatre. Curator: I agree to a degree. Though it’s too facile to view the Bride as simply the grim reaper personified, what are the signs by which we judge this scene? Observe how the picture is structured through groups—it appears there are subgroups facing us from the ‘front stage’ of the couches, yet in other corners, many figures stand with an empty thousand yard stare. Editor: To add on to this: one may point out a tension between representation and reality. The figures are theatrically posed but also reveal an underlying emotional vulnerability; almost like puppets acting out prescribed roles in an unspoken script. I almost wonder if this image could have found even greater appreciation amidst our era’s hyperawareness of ‘performing for the camera’. Curator: It presents us with the interplay of public performance and inner turmoil. Its persistent value lies not only in the aesthetic shock it delivers, but also the broader social and emotional anxieties it brings to the surface. Editor: A memorable portrayal of uncertainty, no doubt. Its value to the broader public, of course, is tied directly to how the composition speaks to them today; how they process and understand these motifs in our current moment.