Oil on canvas

88.5 x 129.5 cm. 34 7/8 x 51 in.

Signed in dated on upper left； signed in English on upper right
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Japan
Important Private Collection, Asia

Note: The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Jacques Gasbarian & Ida Garnier

A Father's Love, as Unwavering as the Sturdy Oak
The Golden Oak, one of Bernard
Buffet's rare works from the 1970s
Bernard Buffet is celebrated as one of the most important artists of the 20th century as well as one of the representatives of post-WWII French expressionism. He has a talent for conveying sentiments in his paintings and has produced over 8,000 works covering a broad spectrum of subject matter — from social scenes, the circus, and religion to landscapes, people, and animals. One of the characteristics of his work is the use of hard, resolute black lines to depict the forms of his subjects, which somewhat resembles the tendency in Chinese calligraphy of “hiding one's prowess and remaining at ease with clumsiness”. Another characteristic is the use of beige and gray hues as the main color scheme. In Buffet's early works, his depictions of characters against landscapes created a dramatic and romantic expressionist style. These works incorporated feelings of ennui, anger, and helplessness as a means of displaying the absurdity and chaos of European society at that time. As France attempted to recover from the ravages of war, people of all levels fell into a sense of disillusionment and collective instability.
From 1971 to 1979, Buffet's creative style underwent an immense transformation. In particular, in 1974, the artist depicted a series of maple forests gleaming in magnificent golden light like the “Myrkviðr” in Scandanavian folklore — full of danger, waiting to be explored. During this auction, we will present one of the paintings that make up this rare series of works — The Golden Oak — in order to give guests some insight into a little-known side of Buffet.
A Classical Landscape Dappled in Gold
In 1971, Buffet and his family moved to Château de Villiers-le-Mahieu on the outskirts of Versailles. In his atelier there, the artist began to use common elements of his rural environs — creeks running under little bridges, pastural songs, and mills — as the subject matter for a series of idyllic landscapes. This series, whether in terms of composition and natural light or the use of rural subject matter, brings to mind the Barbizon school of painting as well as French realist painters such as Corot and Gustave Courbet. Some of Buffet's works meanwhile feature highly expressive brushwork reminiscent of Vlaminck and Maurice Utrillo combined with the beauty of classic mythology. His pieces from the 1970s can be roughly divided into three series: Boats （1971–72）, Idyllic Scenery （1972–1976）, and Snowscapes （1976）.
It was in 1974 that the Idyllic Scenery series began to feature landscapes in golden light. In these works, the slightly saffron glow gently shines down upon groves of maples and oaks, making their foliage seem meticulously gilded by a goldsmith. Like the “golden fleece” in the Greek myth of Medea, the rays of sunlight appear transcendental and divine, as though cast down by a god to chase away the darkness. The Golden Oak is a quintessential example of the series. In this work, the artist captures the scenery outside the window of his atelier: a pond surrounded by maple trees, with one enormous oak tree in the center. Buffet uses sparing brush strokes to depict the reflection of the enormous oak on the tranquil surface of the pond. The impenetrable darkness of the pond suggests that, although small, it is so deep that one cannot see the bottom. The narrow path that leads to the pond is flanked by bare pine trees and maples, their thin branches receiving the full embrace of the sun. A few of the trees in the foreground tilt toward the middle of the pond, seemingly being pulled in by some invisible force. The great oak in the very center of the painting is sturdier and taller than the other trees； its branches on all sides reach out to the tips of these trees like human arms, as if trying to protect them. The horizontal composition of the image is peaceful and transcendent. Overall, the painting represents the flux of nature and the cycle of life, with the golden light adding a touch of warmth to the scene.
Western art historians rarely discussed or studied Buffet's work from the 1970s. This was in part because Buffet at this time immersed himself entirely in the creative process and refused visits from outsiders, although the social instability of the 1970s was also a large factor. However, if one were to contemplate Buffet's experiences during the period, it is not difficult to see how the oak and the pond reflect his sentiments, such as his mourning for his mother or his worries about not being a good father. At the same time, these feelings are all inextricably related to his own lonely childhood.
Gray Childhood
The art historian Claude Roger-Marx believes that the black lines in Buffet's works reflect his fear and rejection of evil. This internal conflict arises from a childhood of neglect. Buffet, who was born into a military household, rarely spoke of his father or older brother. In his work from 1956 entitled The Stairs, one can sense the loneliness of Buffet's childhood. The only person who Buffet could trust and confide in at this time — his mother, Blanche — died of cancer only two years after the end of WWII while she and Buffet were touring the coast of Brittany. This made their decision to travel throughout France once the war was over a sore subject for the artist. However, the tragically short period of happiness that he experienced with Blanche on the shore of Brittany would live on in his heart and encourage him to move to Saint-Tropez in 1958, where he would meet the love of his life, Annabelle. Later, in the 1970s, he and Annabelle moved to Villiers-le-Mahieu. It was here that he created the Boat series, which in his own words Buffet “had never been happier than when painting”. This series was soon followed by the golden landscapes of his Idyllic Scenery series. In The Golden Oak, the dark surface of the pond can be seen as a metaphor for the source of his inner woes； it sucks in the smaller trees much like his depression threatens to engulf his joy. Meanwhile, Buffet （who by then was a father to several children） was like the oak tree and its outstretched branches, attempting to protect his family from this darkness.
A Quixotic Father
In 1971, Buffet and his family moved from the French capital to a château that he had just purchased in the suburbs. While this decision may appear abrupt, it was the natural conclusion to a number of other decisions that he had made in the same year. That year, Buffet depicted his adopted daughters, Virginie （nine at the time） and Danielle （eight）, and he also adopted another child in 1973, Nicolas. Although Buffet moved to the château largely out of consideration for his children, it can be seen in his later work that this move was perhaps motivated by additional factors.
At the end of the 1980s, Buffet created a wealth of works revolving around famous allegories in which he depicted himself as the protagonist. The protagonist in these works was always a heroic figure, tasked with either completing a burdensome feat or protecting loved ones. One of these works, Don Quixote, which was completed in 1988, is a typical example of this series. In it, one can notice that Buffet and the novel's protagonist have extremely similar personalities: they are detached from reality, and while their intentions are good, they are often lost in their fantasies. When appraising these works, it is also important to consider the context in which it was made. At the beginning of the 1970s, Europe was relatively unstable: as English and American men were conscripted and sent to fight in Vietnam, large-scale protests began to take place in countries throughout the West, and far-left organizations such as the Baader-Meinhof emerged in Germany and extended their influence toward France. Various nations were meanwhile hit by an oil crisis and subsequent economic recession. One can thus imagine that Buffet's choice to cut ties with society and live in a castle protected by a moat was motivated by two factors: the first being that he feared a third world war and, as a father, wished to protect and reassure his children； the second being that he wanted to wholly immerse himself in the creative process.
Although Buffet didn't explicitly state the underlying significance of his “golden landscapes”, the fact that these works abandoned elements such as harsh black lines in favor of warm and resplendent colors hints at a sense of inner peace that was not present in his prior creations. Upon pondering the details of these works, one can see that his signature is no longer as angular as it once was — in particular, the tips of the Bs and Fs have changed from sharp points to curves. It is almost as though anyone, no matter how cold-hearted, becomes softer in spite of him or herself upon meeting his or her child. As an adult, Buffet's son Nicolas once shared memories of life in that Villers-le-Mahieu château: “There is a period that I really love. It's not the greatest period of his height, but it's the period during ‘73 to ‘75. For me, it's the peaceful period. It's the only period of his life where he's just in peace. If you see the rest of his art, it's beautiful but really, really violent, really tortured.” The Golden Oak undoubtedly exemplifies this rare period of peace in the artist's life； in the tranquil scene depicted, one can clearly see the beauty of the never-ending cycle of life as well as Buffet's desire to protect his loved ones.

Price estimate:
HKD: 900,000 - 1,600,000
USD: 114,600 - 203,800

Auction Result:
HKD : --