Robert Combas, born in Lyon in 1957, is one of the emblematic figures of the contemporary French art scene. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Sète and then in Montpellier, he emerged in the early 1980s as one of the founders of the Figuration Libre movement, alongside Hervé Di Rosa, François Boisrond, and Rémi Blanchard. This movement championed an uninhibited, narrative, and expressive style of painting, breaking with the then-dominant intellectual abstraction.

Combas's work is distinguished by its boundless energy, a profusion of vibrant colors, and a deliberately exaggerated style. Drawing on popular culture, comics, rock music, mythology, history, and autobiographical references, his painting blends human figures, animals, texts, and symbols in teeming compositions. Drawing occupies a central place, driven by a spontaneous and rhythmic graphic style.

An instinctive and prolific painter, Robert Combas championed total freedom of gesture and subject matter, transforming the canvas into a space for intense and exhilarating storytelling. His work, often provocative yet profoundly sincere, explores violence, desire, religion, and power with both humor and gravity. Internationally acclaimed, he profoundly influenced the revival of figurative art in France and remains a key figure in contemporary art.