New Biography Debunks Dubuffet's Self-Made Myth

A new biography by M. Jakobi and J. Dieudonné systematically dismantles the myth Jean Dubuffet carefully constructed around his persona and work. The authors reveal that Dubuffet was not the outsider artist indifferent to honors and social success, but rather a strategic operator who used anti-conformist rhetoric to gain institutional and private opportunities. The biography draws on unpublished sources—press articles, correspondence, administrative documents—to catch the artist in the act of mythification. Key findings include Dubuffet's opportunistic relationship with cultural institutions and his instrumental use of Art Brut to win over intellectuals while disavowing cultural heritage. The book is described as a rigorous, well-written deconstruction aimed at reconfiguring the artist's true biography.