early life and career jean philippe arthur dubuffet, a french painter and sculptor, was born on july 31, 1901, in le havre, france. his family, wholesale wine merchants, belonged to the wealthy bourgeoisie. in 1918, dubuffet moved to paris to study painting at the académie julian, where he befriended artists like juan gris, andré masson, and fernand léger. artistic evolution after a brief stint at the académie, dubuffet continued his artistic journey independently. he developed interests in music, poetry, and ancient languages. in 1934, he resumed painting, creating a series of portraits that…