Francis
Bacon : The Human Body by David Sylvester
Francis Bacon (1909-1992) is widely acknowledged
as one of the greatest British artists of this century. For over
fifty years the intense emotions conveyed in his works have
shocked and enthralled an ever-growing audience. David Sylvester,
a leading Bacon scholar, brings together many of the artist's best
paintings involving the human figure, the central subject of his
work. Bacon's diverse body imagery can be seen in his
self-portraits; nude studies; portraits of friends such as
Henrietta Moraes, George Dyer, and Lucian Freud; and his series of
Popes. Many of Bacon's prototypes were "found" images:
reproductions of Michelangelo, Velsquez, Degas, Muybridge's
photographs of the human figure in motion, film stills from
Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, magazine photos of politicians
and boxers. Bacon disliked working directly from a model and
therefore often commissioned photographs, especially from John
Deakin. A prolific creator of self-portraits, Bacon painted
dozens, mostly small canvases of his head. Usually three are put
together to form a triptych; sometimes one appears as a solo
canvas or as a unit in a triptych along with other people's heads.
One of the most powerful is a full-length portrait, the Sleeping
Figure of 1974, painted from a photograph of him stretched out on
a hospital bed. Other paintings portray bodies wracked by
violencea wailing mouth, a cry of despair. Sylvester's
observations show how certain images were linked to incidents in
Bacon's life, such as childhood fear of his father and his
lifelong devotion to his nanny. The catalog includes paintings
that date from 1945 to the mid-1980s, including single canvases
and triptychs from collections around the world.
Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest
British artists of this century, Francis Bacon (1909-1992) used a
diverse body imagery that can be seen in his self-portraits, nude
studies, portraits of friends, and his series of Popes. This
catalog, published to accompany the first exhibition of Bacon's
works in more than a decade, includes single canvases and
triptychs from collections from around the world. 47
illustrations, 32 in color. 5 gatefolds.
Francis
Bacon : A Retrospective by Dennis Farr, Francis Bacon
(Illustrator), Michael Peppiatt, Sally Yard
This book accompanies the traveling
retrospective that inaugurated the newly reopened Yale Center for
British Art in January 1999. Francis Bacon (1909-1992), the
eminent British painter known for his large, colorful, and
grotesque paintings of the human body, was very controlling of
what was written about his work during his lifetime; this book
marks the first time that each painting is individually discussed
in print. Included in the book are essays that provide great
insight into Bacon's life and personality. Especially revealing is
an essay by Michael Peppiatt, Bacon's close friend and biographer
(he wrote Francis
Bacon: Anatomy of an Enigma). Bacon lived a life of heavy
drinking, gambling, and socializing, and Peppiatt discusses this
lifestyle in relation to the work: "Bacon himself pretended
he painted particularly well with a hangover. 'My mind simply
crackles with electricity after one of those evenings.'"
Along with beautiful reproductions of the
paintings are some photographs of Bacon's studio, which is
astounding in its filth. The floor is littered with various
detritus; brushes and paint tubes are everywhere. Bacon's
intensity is as evident in these studio shots as in the paintings
with contorted figures and grimacing, bruise-colored faces. You
can practically watch the human body decay in front of your eyes. --Jennifer
Cohen
Francis
Bacon : Recent Paintings 1984 by Francis Bacon
1984 exhibition catalogue of works by Francis
Bacon displayed at Marlborough Gallery New York. Includes 11 full
page color reproductions, and three fold-out leafs (Triptych,
1981; Triptych 1983; and Diptych 1982-84 [Study of the Human Body-
From a drawing by Ingres, 1982 and Study from the Human Body,
1982-84). Includes list of exhibitions and bibliography up to 1984
