This paperback book on the great british painter francis bacon is invaluable. Seated figure is a powerful example from francis bacon s most celebrated series of works. Francis bacon books and painting centre pompidou hypebeast. Francis bacon artlifebacons worldthe estate newsshop. Bacon concentrated his energies on portraiture, often.
Francis bacon was a member of parliament in 1584 and his opposition to elizabeths tax program retarded his political advancement. Invisible rooms at tate liverpool, liverpool advertisement the wideopen mouth would later materialize in some of the painters greatest canvases. Harrisons catalogue raisonne summarized the artists motivations when he gifted the second version of his triptych of the crucifixion to the tate in 1991. Peter schjeldahl for the new yorker true, it would seem theres no defense needed for an artist who has had more than a halfdozen major retrospectives, and whose three studies of lucien freud holds the record for the most expensive. A briefly successful bookillustrator and a frustrated minor painter respectively. Noted for paintings in which the human figure was often distorted, twisted and placed within boxlike enclosures, he was a selftaught painter. In this, the firstever book to be written about him, daniel farson, friend and confidant to bacon for over forty years, gives a highly personal, firsthand account of the man as he knew him. In the hugh lane gallery, on parnell square in dublin, michael peppiatt is reading from his new memoir, francis bacon in your blood, which details his 30year friendship with the painter.
Francis bacon was born on january 22, 1561 in london, england. This volume provides invaluable insight into the life and works of francis bacon, the quintessential british expressionist painter. He was the son of sir nicholas bacon, lord keeper to queen elizabeth i. Francis bacon produced some of the most iconic images of wounded and traumatized humanity in postwar art. He is professor of history and philosophy of art at the university of kent. There are many quotable passages of pellucid prose that render the work more approachable and intimate, giving one the sense the philosopher owned some of the great painter s work and had spent many well rewarded hours in their indelible company. Content compiled and written by the art story contributors edited and published by the art story contributors available from.
Francis bacon 19091992 united kingdom is an artist born in 1909 the oldest auction result ever registered on the website for an artwork by this artist is a painting sold in 1984, at christies, and the most recent auction result is a printmultiple sold in 2020. Francis bacon, 1st viscount st alban, qc, was an english philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, essayist, and author. The most expensive francis bacon paintings at auctions. Aug 31, 2014 francis bacon has long been my least favorite great painter of the twentieth century.
Bacon evolved from a painter of violence, pathology, and extreme upsetment, his twisted soul splattered in oil, pastel, dust, and aerosol on canvas to become a deft, cool stylist. Aug 09, 2019 the historic centre pompidou in paris will host a major survey dedicated to famed irishborn painter, francis bacon. Francis bacon books list of books by author francis bacon. Intelligently, jarons psychologybased essay fruitfully turns to the earlier book by gilles deleuze, francis bacon. List of books and articles about francis bacon online. He served both as attorney general and lord chancellor of england. A fictional autobiography made up of seven volumes. Martin harrison, the foremost expert on bacon, brings a new light to a somewhat unexpected side of the artists life and work.
Apr 12, 2019 explore the life of english artist francis bacon, who was known for his expressive, often disturbing paintings of the human figure, at. His bestknown works of the 1960s included a series of paintings inspired by the british mass murderer john christie. See all books authored by francis bacon, including essayes. The year 1999 saw the release of the book francis bacon. Encounter francis bacon and his gripping portraits, visions of the trials and traumas of the human condition, with this monograph by taschen books. Sep 11, 2019 portrait of george dyer in a mirror 1968 shows francis bacons lover, who died of a drug and alcohol overdose in 1971. Nevertheless, his paintings have inspired some of the most standout artists of this generation, including julian schnabel and damien hirst.
His dramatic images of screaming figures and distorted anatomies are painted with a richly gestural technique. Catalogue raisonne, documenting 584 paintings by bacon, was released by martin harrison and others. Artist, francis bacon 1909 1992, left with photographer cecil beaton 1904 1980 at an exhibition at the marlborough gallery, london of the artist s works. Francis bacon biography life, parents, name, death, book. The influence of literature in francis bacons painting. Master of ebullient despair francis bacon, the papal portraits of 1953 francis bacon henry moore. The irish figurative painter was said to have had an enormous library of books sprawled across his london studio, from modernist giants like t.
Many times, it seems to be a francis bacon painting. The centre pompidou will now host a major survey of bacon s impressive oeuvre simply titled francis bacon. Books and painting at centre pompidou, which completes the range. After exhibiting his painting, three studies at the base of a crucifixion, in 1944 at the lefevre galleries, he became the most controversial painter in postwar. In the opening of ecrits, lacan presents his mirror phase theory. Dec 28, 2019 and now this city has mounted another bacon bacchanal, francis bacon. Deleuzes phenomenological interpretation of bacon s work is stunningly lucid and insightful. Didier ottinger is the curator of this innovative exploration of the influence of literature in francis bacons painting. Bacon had an enormous library in his london studio, where books were scattered among shelves and on the floor. Borrowing inspiration from surrealism, film, photography, and the old masters, he forged a distinctive style that made him one of the most widely recognized exponents of figurative art in the 1940s and 1950s. Francis bacon was the loudest, rudest, drunkest, most soughtafter british artist of the 20th century. Recent biographies, a movie based on his life, and now the announcement of recently discovered, until now unseen bacon paintings, have all focused public attention on an artist generally regarded as among the greatest of the latter half of the 20th century. Couplings is on at the gasogian in london until august 3, 2019. The database has entries on approximately 570 books and catalogues, 1,500 photographs, 100 slashed canvases, 1,300 leaves torn from books.
Francis bacon was born on 22 january 1561 at york house near the strand in london, the son of sir nicholas bacon lord keeper of the great seal by his second wife, anne cooke bacon, the daughter of the noted renaissance humanist anthony cooke. Bacon was born in dublin on 28 october 1909 to english parents who have recently moved to ireland. Francis bacon, painter, is dead at 82 francis bacon, louise bourgeois and franz xaver messerschmidt. Michael peppiatts francis bacon in your blood is published by bloomsbury. Bacon served as attorney general and lord chancellor of england, resigning amid charges of corruption. Books and painting, a new exhibition at the centre pompidou in paris through jan. The logic of sensation which questions the implications of the artist s. Jun 23, 2019 francis bacon was born on january 22, 1561 in london, england. Cheim and read francis bacon, confounder of art critics. The art of francis bacon 19091992 epitomises the angst at the heart of the modern human condition. As is the case with any artist, be they a writer, painter or musician, the key to understanding their work is all in the lives they have led. The philosophy books that inspired francis bacons art friedrich nietzsches beyond good and evil.
Martin hammer is the author of two important scholarly books on the artist, bacon and sutherland 2005 and francis bacon and nazi propaganda 2012. Because of his time in art history, i am often in galleries which support his work. The book coincided with a national tour of many of bacon s paintings. Francis bacon has 41 books on goodreads with 4329 ratings. When bacon was struggling financially during his youth, lightfoot.
A retrospective, which analyzed the work of the artist. Feb 04, 2017 francis bacon was the loudest, rudest, drunkest, most soughtafter british artist of the 20th century. Since his death in 1992, about 1,300 of them now belong to trinity college in dublin. It was in paris in 1927, at an exhibition dedicated to picasso, that francis bacon grasped his vocation as a painter. Eliot, joseph conrad, and marcel proust, to friedrich nietzsche, gilles deleuze, sigmund freud, and jacques lacan reflecting the artists explicit interest in philosophy and. Francis bacon s most popular book is interviews with francis bacon. March 20jun 29, 1975, the metropolitan museum of art, new york. Books and painting presents paintings dating from 1971, the year of the retrospective event at the national galleries of the grand palais, to his final works in 1992. Bacon died of heart failure in madrid, spain, on april 28, 1992. Eliot, joseph conrad, and marcel proust, to friedrich nietzsche, gilles deleuze, sigmund freud, and jacques lacan reflecting the artist s explicit interest in philosophy and. Widely regarded as the best british painter since turner, very little is known about francis bacon s life. Though small in size, there is a wealth of materials presented portions of the many interesting interviews conducted with him over the years, a great amount of documentary photographs of bacon, his works, his studio and his friends, including many color reproductions of his paintings. Francis bacon 28 october 1909 28 april 1992 was an irishborn british figurative painter known for his emotionally charged raw imagery.
He also curated the exhibition the naked portrait at the national galleries of scotland, edinburgh in 2007. Whether or not you are a fan of francis bacon s painting, the book offers bacon s insights as well as sylvesters on the very nature of creativity, obsession, and what drives artists of any kind painter, poet, composer, etc. Raised with three siblings, francis bacon is a descendant of the sixteenthcentury statesman and essayist of the same name. Bacon always vigorously opposed overanalysis of his paintings, preferring to interpret them in purely illustrative or symbolic terms. This silent figure painted in 1960 and cloaked in a rich bloodred crimson is a work that stands as an almost unique example from. First published in french in 1981, francis bacon has come to be recognized as one of deleuzes most significant texts in aesthetics. A survey of the life and art of the twentiethcentury british painter explains his surrealistic, disturbing treatment of the. Bacon s childhood nanny, jessie lightfoot, who lived with the painter until her death in 1951, and his two primary dealersfirst erica brausen at hanover gallery, then valerie beston at marlborough galleryalso played major roles in helping organize his life and career. Bacon served as attorney general and lord chancellor of england, resigning amid charges of. The philosophy books that inspired francis bacons art dazed. Books and painting by putting, as the very title suggests, a special accent on his relation with literature with the selection of paintings dating from 1971 to his final works in 1992. Inaugurated by the socalled screaming popes of the 1950s, bacon s renowned series of papal portraits were the works responsible for establishing the artist s reputation.
Gilles deleuze was one of the most influential and revolutionary philosophers of the twentieth century. He produced series of images of popes, crucifixions and portraits of close friends, with abstracted figures sometimes isolated in geometrical cages, set against flat, nondescript backgrounds. Books and painting at centre pompidou, which completes the range of his career, with 60 paintings from the final period, 1971. Francis bacon was born in dublin, ireland, on october 28, 1909, to english parents. Francis bacon 28 october 1909 28 april 1992 was an irishborn british figurative painter. Francis bacon is a painter whose reputation, legendary at the time of his death in 1992, continues to grow. Twentyfive years after his death, his canvases regularly exceed. Francis bacon, viscount saint alban, francis bacon, viscount saint albans, sir francis bacon meanwhile, sometime before july 1591, bacon had become acquainted with robert devereux, the young earl of essex, who was a favourite of the queen, although still in some disgrace with her. Francis bacon, our subject at hand, was an extremely complex individual. David lynch has called legendary british artist francis bacon october 28, 1909april 28, 1992 the main guy, the number one kinda hero painter. Books became a way for the painter to create a new version of. The british, irishborn painter francis bacon is one among the most important painters of the 20th century.
Francis bacon s views on art, death and his bohemian circle make revealing reading in this enjoyable memoir independent 20150829 francis bacon in your blood is not a biography of bacon, nor is meant to be. Anticipating his work on cinema, the baroque, and literary criticism, the book can be read not only as a study of bacons paintings but also as a crucial text within deleuzes broader philosophy of art. And now this city has mounted another bacon bacchanal, francis bacon. He left home at the age of sixteen and spent two years in berlin, germany, and paris, france. The first indepth publication to uncover the long relationship francis bacon enjoyed with france, monaco and french culture. Francis bacon artlifebacons worldthe estatenewsshop. Anticipating his work on cinema, the baroque, and literary criticism, the book can be read not only as a study of bacon s paintings but also as a crucial text within deleuzes broader philosophy of art. The unsparing pages of francis bacon hyperallergic. This reprise of the painting bacon considered his opus i is both larger and more monumental than the original, the sumptuous, dusky crimson backgrounds and deep space evoking a subverted baroque. The logic of sensation is his longawaited work on bacon,widely regarded as one of the most radical painters of the twentieth century. Bacon s unique interpretations and the intensely personal nature of his work make it difficult to visually trace his influence in contemporary art. The irish figurative painter was said to have had an enormous library. When michael peppiatt, at 21, met francis bacon, the 53yearold artist was already all artifice, well spoken when well rehearsed, his bistro doctrines applauded by clinking glasses. After his death, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific method.