Hello readers. My name is Jean Dubuffet, a great painter and sculptor if I don’t say so myself. I currently live in Paris and it is currently 1985. I have been admired for my simple yet symbolic and representative works of art. I both paint and sculpt, but I am better known for my paintings and my distinct art style. The popularization of the art style, “Art Brut” as they call it, was my doing. This style is based around the drawings of the non-appreciated artists- children and the insane. This is why these works seem primitive. This art style was my retaliation against the culture-influenced art of that age. I hated how artists at that time would imbue beauty into serious subjects like war and death. I then decided to turn away from the art of others and focus on this new style, ignoring the approaches of other artists.
My date of birth was July 31, 1901 in a city called Le Havre. This is where I spent most of my student life until the age of 17 when I moved to Paris. The education I received at Le Havre, in my opinion, was ineffective and I decided to read so I would be able to learn more outside of school. This is where my interest in at began as I read the works of Dr. Hans Prinzhorn. They depicted the drawings of the crazed prisoners lying in asylums. In France, I studied at the Académie Julian for six months before I became dissatisfied with the studies there. I left and on my own I developed interests in art, music, and literature.
In 1930, my family and I founded a wine business in Paris. With me, I had my wife that had wedded with me in 1925. This exertion did not last long for me, though. By 1934 I had left the business and left my wife and daughter to find my inspiration for a truly unique style of art that everyone could participate in. In 1937, I set down my brush once again because that inspiration was never found and I started doubting my abilities as an artist. In 1942, my interest in art was renewed when I found a new inspiration in the anti-culture art of the simple and primitive figures of Art Brut. I started to paint in this style myself. I refused to include the so called “beauty” that existed in everyone else’s artwork. I painted in this style as well as taking requests for portraits. I wished for my work to be unique, so I changed the emphasis of the painting to the minute imperfections of the patron. By 1944, I had built up quite a collection of art and held my own exhibition.
For many years, I painted and eventually, my love for the complex textures and materials of the buildings around me led me to pursue sculpting as well. I used very simple materials like papier mâchier so I could work quickly and efficiently decorate them easily. I say my life has been a success. Alas, my time of passing is at hand. I Thank you for reading of my life’s work.
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