A champion of what he called "Art Brut," or "raw art," Dubuffet sought liberation from conventional fine art techniques through the adoption of a rough-hewn, untutored style and the use of unconventional materials. The artist experimented with various surface textures to create the masses of hair that dominate his fantastical, humorous Beard series of 1959, which was inspired by a friend’s likening of Dubuffet to a Stoic or sage. For Beard Garden, the artist tore and reassembled printed paper to fashion an animated expanse of tangled hair that is in lively contrast with its impassive bearer.
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Inscription: Signed and dated (lower left): J. Dubuffet 59; inscribed and dated (verso): Le jardin de barbe/ mai 59
Pierre Matisse, New York (1959–d. 1989; acquired from the artist in October 1959); his widow, Maria-Gaetana Matisse, née von Spreti, New York (1989–d. 2001); Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation (2002; gift to MMA)
New York. Pierre Matisse Gallery. "Jean Dubuffet: Retrospective Exhibition, 1943–1959," November 10–December 12, 1959, no. 69.
Paris. Galerie Daniel Cordier. "As-tu cueilli la fleur de barbe," April 27–May 31, 1960, no. 6.
New York. Pierre Matisse Gallery. "An Exhibition of Paintings by Jean Dubuffet: The Early Years, 1943 to 1959," May 9–June 3, 1978, no. 41.
New York. Pierre Matisse Gallery. "Dubuffet: Early Drawings/Collages, 1943–1959; Miró: Early Drawings/Collages, 1919–1949," November 17–December 19, 1981, no. 31.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, Part 2," September 28, 2004–January 30, 2005, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Selections from The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection, Part 3," February 15–June 26, 2005, no catalogue.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Paper Trails: Selected Works from the Collection, 1934–2001," July 19–November 27, 2011, no catalogue.
New York. Morgan Library & Museum. "Dubuffet Drawings, 1935–1962," September 30, 2016–January 2, 2017, no. 87.
Los Angeles. Hammer Museum. "Dubuffet Drawings, 1935–1962," January 29–April 30, 2017, no. 87.
Max Loreau. Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet. Vol. 15, As-tu cueilli la fleur de barbe, 1959. Lausanne, 1964, p. 18, no. 13, ill.
Lorenza Trucchi. L'Occhio di Dubuffet. [Rome], 1965, pp. 237, 379, pl. 214.
Isabelle Monod-Fontaine et al. Dation Pierre Matisse. Exh. cat., Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, 1992, p. 128, ill. (installation photo of Exh. New York 1959).
Sabine Rewald in "Selections from the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 61 (Spring 2004), p. 51, ill.
Sabine Rewald. The American Matisse: The Dealer, His Artists, His Collection. The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Collection. New York, 2009, pp. 53–54, 153, ill. (color).
Isabelle Dervaux in Isabelle Dervaux. Dubuffet Drawings, 1935–1962. Exh. cat., Morgan Library & Museum. New York, 2016, p. 30, colorpl. 87.
Alex Potts in Isabelle Dervaux. Dubuffet Drawings, 1935–1962. Exh. cat., Morgan Library & Museum. New York, 2016, p. 39.
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