Bernard Bouts
Comment: Most of the draft is unreferenced. Every paragraph in each section should include at least one inline citation from a reliable source. Paul W (talk) 20:54, 24 July 2026 (UTC)
- Comment: Colaboro con la Galería MAPA, que organizó la exposición y representa la obra de Bernard Bouts Jon Victor Lara (talk) 14:52, 2 July 2026 (UTC)
| Bernard Bouts | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bernard Robert Marie Bouts 2 December 1909 Versailles, France |
| 💀Died | 2 March 1986 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil2 March 1986 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | French (based in Argentina and Brazil) |
| 🏫 Education | Trained under sculptor and philosopher Henri Charlier (1930-1940) |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Painting, seascapes |
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Bernard Bouts (Versailles, 2 December 1909 – Rio de Janeiro, 2 March 1986) was a French painter who lived in Argentina and later Brazil, known for his seascapes and for spending roughly a decade living and painting aboard his schooner, the Cisne ("Swan"), which doubled as his studio.[1]. He trained under the Christian sculptor and philosopher Henri Charlier (1883–1975), from whom he adopted a rejection of chiaroscuro and geometric perspective in favor of a painting built on line and form[1][2]. He exhibited regularly at the New York gallery Wildenstein between the 1950s and 1970s[1][3] and took part in the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo in 1951.[1]
Biography
Training and Argentina
Born in Versailles, from a Dutch family, he was said to be a descendant of the Flemish painter Dirk Bouts.
Bouts grew up in Brittany, where his deep interest in the sea began. He began his career as an apprentice to the sculptor Henri Charlier in 1930, in the Champagne region, in Mesnil-Saint-Loup. He remained close to Charlier until his death in 1975.
During the Second World War, Bouts' family left Europe, arriving in Buenos Aires, where his brother Gabriel was living. After his arrival, Bernard Bouts decided to commit to painting, as well as teaching philosophy and art history.
He held his first solo exhibition at the Instituto de Arte Moderna in Buenos Aires in 1943. He later exhibited again in the same city in 1951 and 1952, at Galeria Wildenstein. In the same year he first travelled to Brazil, he also wrote articles for the 1st São Paulo Biennial and for "Le Quotidien de Paris," a French newspaper.
The floating studio and Brazil
From 1954, Bouts lived sailing his sailboat along the Atlantic coasts of South America: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina. On 1 February 1961, Bouts acquired his iconic sailboat, "Cisne," in Salvador, Bahia. For the next 10 years, Bouts lived with his family on his boat, where he would paint. He would sail the Brazilian coast from Oiapoque to Chuí. In 1970, Bouts took the decision to sell his boat and moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he bought a house in Cosme Velho, where he lived until he passed away.
Career and recognition
Bouts exhibited at Galeria Wildenstein repeatedly, in 1951, 1952, 1968 and 1970, and also exhibited in New York in 1957 and 1972, and in Paris and Los Angeles, according to what Bouts said.
He was also part of the 1st Biennial of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, and in 1966 exhibited at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP). Bouts' work was also exhibited at Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1953, at Berkeley University, and at the HemisFair in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968. Also at the Chelsea Art Galleries in São Paulo in 1969 and 1979.
Bernard Bouts appeared in the "Benefit Dictionary" of painters, sculptors, draughtsmen and engravers in 1976.
He had two books published: "Oeuvres de Bernard Bouts" (Rio de Janeiro: Colorama, 1st ed. 1981, 2nd ed. 1985) and, in France, "Pages de Journal" (Éditions Dominique Martin Morin, 1985).
The Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB) made a retrospective of his work in 1992.
On 2 March 1986, Bernard Bouts died at Hospital Silvestre in Rio de Janeiro.
Style
Bouts was adamant against techniques such as chiaroscuro, cast shadows and geometric perspective, favoring line and form as a route to what he called "things of the mind."
A big part of his work was based on the study of seascapes, described by him as "landscapes of a state of mind," where the sky and the sea became a unique abstract image.
He was very much influenced by ancient artistic traditions; this is very evident in his portraits from the Andes.
Selected exhibitions
| Year | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Buenos Aires | Instituto de Arte Moderna |
| 1951 | São Paulo | 1st MAM Biennial |
| 1951, 1952 | Buenos Aires | Galería Wildenstein |
| 1953 | Paris | Galerie Beaux-Arts |
| 1957 | New York | Wildenstein Gallery |
| 1966 | São Paulo | MASP |
| 1968, 1970 | Buenos Aires | Galería Wildenstein |
| 1969, 1979 | São Paulo | Chelsea Art Galleries |
| 1972 | New York | Wildenstein Gallery |
| 1992 | Rio de Janeiro | CCBB (retrospective) |
| 2025 | São Paulo | Galeria MAPA ("Dentro do Cisne") |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Official website of the artist, maintained by his son Denis Bouts. Available at: bernard.bouts.nom.br. A primary/family source — used here only for uncontroversial biographical facts, to be corroborated by independent sources wherever possible.
- ↑ Escritório de Arte (source: artist's website). "Bernard Bouts". Available at: escritoriodearte.com.
- ↑ Auction records with provenance from "Wildenstein Arte, Buenos Aires" independently corroborate his relationship with the gallery. See, for example: Clarke Auction Gallery, lot "Figuras," 2025.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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