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Jean Dubuffet Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

French, 1901-1985

Jean Dubuffet was a seminal French artist known for his prints as well as his primal figures and sculptures of vernacular subjects. 

Dubuffet’s adoption of the term Art Brut or raw art, referred to the art of children, prisoners, and the mentally ill, was a reaction to what he called “art culturel” or refined art. It was his desire to break from tradition by implementing rudimentary mark-making and emulsions made from sand, tar, and trash, as seen in his work Grand Maitre of the Outsider (1946). 

“A work of art is only of interest, in my opinion, when it is an immediate and direct projection of what is happening in the depth of a person's being,” the artist said. “It is my belief that only in this Art Brut can we find the natural and normal processes of artistic creation in their pure and elementary state.” 

Born on July 31, 1901, in Le Havre, France, Dubuffet went on to study at the Académie Julian in Paris. While at school his peers included Raoul Dufy, Suzanne Valadon, and Fernand Léger. In 1918, after attending classes for only six months Dubuffet dropped out. Taking over his father’s wine business in 1924, he didn’t return to making art until the early 1940s. The artist would go on to form the Compagnie de l’Art Brut with André Breton and Slavko Kopač. 

Dubuffet died on May 12, 1985, in Paris, France, at the age of 83. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

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(Biography provided by Lot 180)

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Artist: Jean Dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) - Vacations - 1953 - lithograph in colors on Rives pap
By Jean Dubuffet
Located in Varese, IT
lithograph in colors on Rives paper, edited in 1953, signed and dated in pencil by artist in lower right corner, numbered 10/20 excellent conditions Image size: 17 x 25 cm Paper size...
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1950s Abstract Jean Dubuffet Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

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Image XII By Jean Dubuffet
By Jean Dubuffet
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Image XII By Jean Dubuffet 1984 Colored felt pen on paper Signed to lower left ‘J.D.’ 10 3/5 × 8 3/10 in 27 × 21 cm Provenance: Estate of the artist Waddington Fine Art, Ltd., L...
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1980s Contemporary Jean Dubuffet Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

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Jean Dubuffet 'Arabe' Signed Crayon on Paper Drawing
By Jean Dubuffet
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Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985) Arabe This crayon on paper drawing was executed 1948, and is signed and dated 'J.Dubuffet 48' on the lower right. Literature: M. Loreau (ed.), Catalogue ...
Category

1940s Modern Jean Dubuffet Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Crayon

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Questions About Jean Dubuffet Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    Jean Dubuffet, a French painter, sculptor and printmaker was greatly inspired by the art of children and the mentally ill. He developed art brut, which is meant to be full of vitality and expression and not restrained by academics. Shop a selection of Jean Dubuffet pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers on 1stDibs.

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