Francis Bacon
sheet: 80 x 590mm 31¾ by 23¼in
Francis Bacon’s visceral, macabre portraits express the widespread anxieties of post-war Europe and the artist’s own personal demons. Bacon painted howling abstracted faces and crucifixes in claustrophobia-inducing settings, made all the more ominous with his discomfiting palettes. He often took inspiration from art historical forebears such as Van Gogh and Velázquez, translating their dramatic compositions for the chaotic modern age. Bacon’s own violent relationships served as a darker, more personal reference point. Beginning in his mid-thirties, Bacon received considerable acclaim and exhibited regularly in New York, Paris, London, Berlin, and Moscow, among other cities. His work belongs in the collections of the Tate, the Museum of Modern Art, the Centre Pompidou, and the Stedelijk Museum, among others
