The stormy history of Francis Bacon and his paintings

April 28, 2020 at 10:52 a.m.
Francis Bacon. Photo: christies.com
Francis Bacon. Photo: christies.com

 

Francis Bacon He was an Irish painter of idiosyncratic figurative style, whose work was characterized by the use of the pictorial deformation and great ambiguity on the intentional plane.

Author of 584 paintings and around 600 drawings, he lived in Berlin and Paris. It was in this last city where he met works like The Massacre of the Innocents by Poussin, a creation that aroused great interest in him both through the mouth and through the scream, as did the anthropomorphic figures of Pablo PicassoIt was there that he decided to become a painter.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

SWIPE “It is true, of course, the Pope is unique. He's put in a unique position by being the Pope, and therefore, like in certain great tragedies, he's as though raised onto a dais on which the grandeur of this image can be displayed to the world. ” . Shrouded in silence amidst a deep black void, Study for a Head, 1955, occupies an outstanding position within Francis Bacon's celebrated series of Papal portraits. A deeply human portrayal of Bacon's most enduring subject, it stands as one of only a handful of works depicting Pope Pius XII: the current, living incumbent at the time of the painting, who reigned from 1939 until 1958.. 'Study for a Head', 1955. Oil on canvas. (40 x 30 1/8 inches). Sold at @christiesinc Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London, 2015 for £ 10,050,500 ($ 13,198,115.59). . . #francisbacon #francisbaconartist #artoftheday #artcurator #figurativeart #abstract #artcollector #picasso #painter #portrait #abstractart #art #artist #paint #painting #canvas #oilpainting #fineart #gallery #artwork #artcritic #davidlynch 11 February 2015

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Watercolors, gouaches and oils were part of his painting, although as it was not immediately recognized, he destroyed part of his production.

He also worked as interior designer and modern furniture designer.

Towards 1944 his triptych ended Three studies of figures at the foot of a crucifixion, a work that at the time generated controversy, but which today is considered one of the most original and disturbing art of the XNUMXth century.

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The theme of life in death as death in life was fundamental in his art. Bacon painted the exposed and vulnerable human figure, deformed and mutilated, thus managing to express loneliness, violence and degradation.

In 1949 the Museum of Modern Art of New York (MoMA) purchased Bacon's work titled Painting (1946) that presents two uncertain figures plus one of them suspended as if crucified.

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Margaret Thatcher he once despised Bacon's work and even described it in terms of "gross pieces of meat."

Bacon liked to live life fully regardless of taking considerable risks.

Your series Man in blue caught the pilot Peter lacy, Bacon's first great love, although the relationship was mostly violent and stormy. 

Later, she discovered George Dyer, her lover and model for eight years. Their relationship was intense, unstable, and unpredictable.

Dyer, who suffered from depression, committed suicide and Bacon immortalized his death through his works in which he represented Dyer's final moments.

Curious and messy, Bacon accumulated countless press clippings in his workshop and pictures of works of art from the past. After the author's death, his workshop went to the Dublin Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, which was reconstructed with archaeological precision, as if it were a work of art in itself.

Bacon visited the Museo Del Prado whenever he could; sometimes even in private, while the museum was closed to the public.

In 2009, the Prado hosted a Bacon anthology exhibition that commemorated the centenary of his birth and was organized in conjunction with the Tate Gallery in London and MoMA.

Bacon died at 82 from a heart attack.

 

Did you know that?

 

In 2013 the Bacon triptych entitled Three studies by Lucian Freud (1969) reached the record sale price at public auction of 142 thousand 405 million dollars, making it one of the three most expensive works in history.

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To take into account

In 1998, a film biography titled Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon.

 

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