Bernard Buffet Les Rails Located in J Paul’s Italian Steakhouse Modern Contemporary Private Room

Once regarded as 20th-century France's most significant painter, Bernard Buffet's stark and dramatic style encapsulated the existential mood of the Post-War era. This piece, titled "Les Rails," was created in 1982, many years after he had reached an unmatched level of artistic fame in Paris. In this work, a train station and tracks are stripped to their essentials. The deep, dark colors, the eerie grey sky, and the harsh, bold lines merge to create a visceral visual masterpiece. His imagery, both direct and hauntingly memorable, mirrors his acclaimed avant-garde approach.

Born in Paris, Buffet began his art studies at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in December 1943 and trained with painter Eugène Narbonne. After two years, he ventured out on his own and began a successful career, beginning with the exhibition of a self-portrait at the Salon des Moins de Trente Ans in 1946. His existential works quickly brought him significant fame and fortune and an early age, and he appeared alongside Yves Saint-Laurent, Brigitte Bardot, Roger Vadim and Françoise Sagan in a 1958 article in The New York Times Magazine titled “France’s Fabulous Young Five.”