Simon Bussy 1870-1954

Simon Bussy (1870–1954) was a French painter who spent much of his later life in England, where he became known for his refined and intimate studies of the natural world. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris under Gustave Moreau—alongside classmates like Henri Matisse—Bussy began his career within the Symbolist tradition. After settling in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin with his wife, the writer Dorothy Bussy (née Strachey), his work shifted focus to still lifes and studies of flora and fauna, rendered with quiet intensity and meticulous technique.

Among Bussy’s most striking works are his paintings of flowers and butterflies, which reveal both scientific observation and a lyrical sensitivity to colour and form. Yellow Tulips in a Blue Vase and Flowers and Butterflies (both held by The Charleston Trust and viewable on Art UK) exemplify this approach. The careful arrangement of blooms—tulips, lilies, or irises—against flattened backgrounds gives the works a still, contemplative presence. Butterflies are often positioned delicately among the flowers, their wings echoing the shape and hue of petals, suggesting a visual harmony between plant and insect life.

Bussy's floral works resist the decorative excess of late 19th-century still life, instead embracing a restrained, modern sensibility. His use of soft dry pigments on textured paper creates a matte, almost tactile surface, enhancing the quiet, meditative quality of the images. Though less widely known today, Bussy was closely associated with the Bloomsbury Group and exhibited regularly in London. His flower and butterfly paintings remain some of his most distinctive contributions—quiet celebrations of natural beauty, infused with subtle precision and poetic calm.