The Myth behind Buffet’s painting ‘Birds: The Owl”
Bernard Buffet painted « La Chouette » (‘The Owl’) in 1959 as part of the series called « Les Oiseaux » (‘The Birds’). The whole series contains seven immense paintings that were originally exhibited in February 1960 at David and Garnier Gallery. Buffet is known for his undecorated paintings where figures are geometrically represented and accentuated by the rigid black contouring. His color palettes are pale and muted, his drawings are cold and frightening. With the series « Les Oiseaux », Buffet renewed himself — he used vivid color palettes, added thickness to his paintings, he played with scale and represented animals and nudity. Buffet must have had something to say and to spread to the world at this particular time. The painting « La Chouette » has different historical and artistic references within itself and, it reveals in some ways Buffet’s state of mind.
Buffet decided to paint the background as an empty landscape. Neither the sky nor the land has any particularities, they are represented in monochrome tones (yellow/orange for the sky and brown for the land). His intention might have been not to distract the viewer from the main subject of this painting — the owl and the woman. In most of his paintings, Buffet was used to unify the monochrome background into a flat and planar surface by scoring the paint with straight scratches — it was his stylistic signature. The undecorated background shows that nothing in this painting is more important than these two figures who occupies a significant space on the canvas. Buffet painted the woman with muted colors and the owl with more powerful colors; and as he was used to, he accentuated their sharp and angular edges using a rigid black contouring. This technique is used deliberately in most of Buffet’s paintings in order to emphasize the characters’ stillness.
The owl is represented at a bigger scale than it is in reality; an owl is usually way smaller than any human being but this one seems to be at least twice bigger than the woman. Is it a manner to say that the animal has taken the power over her? is it protecting her? or is it abusing her? The woman looks like she’s offering her body to the animal. Her position is probably a recall to the famous painting « The Origin Of The World » by Courbet who painted a nude woman’s body with her legs spread showing her genitals. If Courbet represented a nude body in an erotic way, Buffet chose to paint a graphic and non-attractive representation of the naked woman. Her body isn’t rounded as we usually expect it to be, it has harp edges which eliminates the idea of it being seen as a pornographic object.
The massive painting is not only representing a huge owl next to a naked woman lying on the floor in a sepia tone; it is challenging human’s instincts to look at a naked female body. The owl standing immobile and facing the viewers shows them how confident and powerful it is. Its intense look defies the viewers who don’t feel comfortable anymore and who hesitate to look at the nude body. The viewers feel like there is something wrong with them and they realize that their instincts are purely sexually driven. Instead of looking at the nudity, they look at the owl that protects the woman by standing above her. Its eyes look like two radiant sunshines. Their radiance dazzle the viewers who are not willing to look at the nudity anymore. The use of warm colors helps understanding that the owl’s eyes might be an allegory to the Sun.
In 1960, the exhibition « Les Oiseaux » is a huge success at David and Garnier Gallery. Seven monumental paintings reinterpreted in an aggressive and harsh way the theme of Leda and the Swan. The story comes from Greek mythology and became a significant subject in art (from sculptures to paintings to poetry to literature)*. The first representation are dated from the 4th century BC. The myth of Leda and the swan has a variety of versions and interpretations but the main point of the story is that the Greek god, Zeus, took the form of a swan to rape or seduce Leda. From this union, they gave birth to Helen and Polydeuces — while Leda gave birth (almost simultaneously) to Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. In the 16th century, it was more accepted to represent a woman in the act of copulation with a swan than with a man. Erotism and pornography was only tolerate in painting if the subject represented a mythology or a dream. It was considered as an erotic representation. However, in Buffet’s painting, the artist decided not to represent a swan but an owl instead. In « The Owl », the two figures are not touching each other. They are not looking at each other and they are not sensual to each other. One can suppose that this moment happened right before or right after they had sexual relations because the woman is lying on the floor, naked, in an erotic position.
Buffet destabilized the public with this artwork, he referred to a Greek myth and to a master painting but also to his personal life and experiences. In 1958, Bernard left Pierre Berger** and he got married to Annabel Schwob; she became his muse. According to Ashok Adicéam, director of Bernard Magrez Cultural Institute in France, there is a ‘pre-Annabel’ period and a ‘post-Annabel’ one in Buffet’s paintings. Meeting her was a turning point in Buffet’s life. He drew dozens of Annabel’s portraits representing her with an androgynous look exactly like the woman in the painting. In « La Chouette », one can suggest that the drawing is an analogy of Buffet who took the form of an owl to seduce Annabel like Zeus took the form of a swan to seduce Leda.
Bernard Buffet reinterpreted both « The Origin Of The World » by Courbet and the myth of Leda and the swan by incorporating his personal feelings, point of view and artistic style. Buffet’s painting is provocative; he might have compared himself to Zeus and represented Annabel as Leda. He surprised the public by using vivid colors and adjusting his techniques. Bernard even criticized human’s attraction to sexuality without offending the public. As Bernard Buffet once said, « ‘Great painting’ has never made anyone laugh . »
*Painters like Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo in early sixteenth century painted a representation of this story, but both of their work has been lost.
**Pierre Berger is French, he co-founded Yves Saint Laurent Couture House. Pierre and Bernard were romantically involved.
Bibliography
Adamson, Nathalie. “The Last Big Artist in Paris, Bernard Buffet.” NGV. Accessed February 14, 2017.
“Gustave Courbet The Origin of the World.” Musée d’Orsay. Accessed February 14, 2017.
Trowbridge, Hoyt. “”Leda and the Swan”: A Longinian Analysis.” Modern Philology 51, no. 2 (1953): 118–29. Accessed February 14, 2017.
S. N. D. “Leda and the Swan.” Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin 5, no. 25 (1907): 15. Accessed February 14, 2017.
« Autour de l’oeuvre de Buffet », StationAusone. YouTube. January 23, 2013. Accessed February 14, 2017.
Le Pichon, Yves, and Syl Buisson. Bernard Buffet: An Intimate Portrait. September 20, 2016. Accessed February 14, 2017.
