Francis Bacon
Subtitle: Five Decades
By: edited by Anthony Bond ; with essays by Anthony Bond, Martin Harrison and Rebecca Daniels, Margarita Cappock, Ernst van Alphen
Contributors: Bond, Anthony, 1944- editor; Harrison, Martin, 1945-; Daniels, Rebecca, 1966-; Cappock, Margarita; Alphen, Ernst van
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Published: 2012
Language: eng
Number of pages: 240
ISBN-13: 9781741740783; 9783791347585
Copyright date: 2012
Subjects: Exhibitions
Description: Twenty years after the artist's death, this new publication presents a timely and rich overview of the life and work of Francis Bacon. The book includes some 60 paintings as well as photographs, ephemera and archival material largely drawn from the artist's studio. An introduction and four essays by international experts look at specific aspects of Bacon's work, from detailed analysis of archival material to a study of the influences of Marcel Duchamp. The paintings divide into a thematic chronology of five decades: the 1940s, which looks at the figure studies closely related to Bacon's famous Three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion; the 1950s, where his work is informed by Velázquez and van Gogh, but is also dominated by ambiguous, shadowy figures in sombre tones; the 1960s and 70s, which focus on the portraits and subsequent memorials to Bacon's lover George Dyer, who died in 1971; the 1980s, while calmer and more naturalistic, reveal more haunted works which make reference to classical mythology and epic poetry. Each decade is defined by influences in his life and motifs which form part of an evolving pictorial language.
Notes: Published in association with the exhibition of the same title held at Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 November 2012 - 24 February 2013.

Includes bibliographical references and index.