Francis Bacon: visceral alienation captured on canvas
Bacon, Francis. 1981 “Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus” Oil on canvas, Triptych: Each panel: 78 x 58 in. (198 x 147.5 cm)
My personal favorite of Francis’ artistic output is Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus (1981). Alex Branczik, Head of Contemporary Art for Sotheby’s Europe, commented: “Francis Bacon is the great tragedian of his age. In this ambitious triptych, the painter confronts Aeschylus, the progenitor of tragedy, so that the timeless power of the Ancient Greek genre is brought to bear on the human condition in the 20th century. The result is an arresting and original vision, a true masterpiece that confirms Bacon’s standing in the pantheon of modern masters.”
Bacon, Francis. 1944 “Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion” oil on board, Triptych: each: 1162 × 960 × 80 mm
The Ancient Greek tragedy also inspired his 1944 “Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion”, which launched his career.
“The twisted bodies are all the more frightening for their vaguely familiar human-like forms, which appear to stretch out toward the viewer in pain and supplication. The perspective lines in the background create a shallow space, alluding to captivity and torture. The figures are based upon the Furies, goddesses of revenge from Greek mythology that play an important role in the Oresteia, a three-part tragedy by Aeschylus. Bacon may have been drawn to the play's themes of guilt and obsession.”
The Art Story Contributors, "Francis Bacon Artist Overview and Analysis". 2020. TheArtStory.org, 01 Dec 2010, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/bacon-francis/
Cappock, Margarita. “Francis Bacon's Studio” Merrell Publishers, 2005
Bacon said of his cluttered 7 Reece Mews, South Kensington studio “I feel at home here in this chaos because chaos suggests images to me.” The piles of torn photographs, fragments of illustrations, books, and magazines provided nearly all of his visual sources.
Bacon, Francis. 1969 “3 Studies for Portrait Lucian Freud 1969” (on the reverse of the center panel) oil on canvas, in 3 parts, each: 78 x 58 in. (198 x 147.5 cm.)
Both Bacon's 1963 Portrait of Henrietta Moraes and the 1969 painting Three Studies of Lucian Freud are based on John Deakin's photos. Three Studies of Lucian Freud sold in 2013 for $142 million, making it one of the most expensive paintings ever sold.
Bacon, Francis 1954 “Figure with Meat” Oil on canvas, 129.9 × 121.9 cm (51 1/8 × 48 in.), without frame
Deakin, John. 1952 “Francis Bacon photographed by John Deakin in 1952”. Photograph. The Conde Nast Publications Ltd/John Deakin/Vogue.
John Deakin’s 1952 portrait of a bare-chested Bacon between two carcasses of meat, was used by Bacon as a visual cue for his painting Figure with Meat, in 1954
Deakin, John. 1967 “Francis Bacon Wearing a Coat” photograph
Gruen, John. The Artist Observed: 28 interviews with contemporary artists. A Cappella Books. 1991. Hardcover, 320 pages, Language English, ISBN: 1556521030.
Quinn, Anthony. “The Art of Rivalry review – when Bacon met Freud and other creative friendships” 3 February 2017, The Guardian.
Lucien Freud painted Bacon in 1952 on a copper plate. Bacon’s expression in the painting was described by Robert Hughes as having “the silent intensity of a grenade in the millisecond before it goes off”. The portrait was stolen from the wall of a German museum in 1988 and has never been recovered.
The BBC 2017 documentary “Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence” is an excellent look at the life and inspirations of this titan of 20th century art.
“I feel ever so strongly that an artist must be nourished by his passions and his despairs. These things alter an artist whether for the good or the better or the worse. It must alter him. The feelings of desperation and unhappiness are more useful to an artist than the feeling of contentment, because desperation and unhappiness stretch your whole sensibility.”-Francis Bacon