Francis Bacon (1909-1992)
Bacon was a figurative painter.
Absent of any formal training, Bacon, at the age of eighteen, was impressed by a Picasso exhibition and began to draw and paint while attending the free academies.
Banished from his home by his father because of a disagreement regarding his sexual preferences, Bacon went out on his own. He was given some financial support by his mother and emotional support by his nanny.
Bacon began his career as a furniture and interior designer in the modernistic style of Eileen Gray. He exhibited his designs in 1929 and 1930. He was guided by the painter, Roy de Maistre, in matters of technique.
Bacon borrowed inspiration from surrealism, film, photography, and the Old Masters. His subject matter was inspired by Velazquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X and his technique was inspired by Van Gogh, going from monochromatic work towards heightened color. His career took off in 1944 when he created Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. The triptych became his characteristic format and in 1949 he created a series of ‘screaming Popes’.
Bacon focused on portraits. His subjects communicate powerful emotions; tormented and sometimes macabre, but they were viewed by many art critics as reflecting the anxiety of the modern condition.
International exhibitions reinforced the perception of Bacon and in 1971, he was regarded as Britain’s greatest living painter.
