List of large triptychs by Francis Bacon
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, C 1944. 94 cm x 74 cm (ea), Tate Britain, London. This work was the first painting Bacon was happy with and was an instant critical success. The themes it explores reoccur and are re-examined in many of his later panels and triptychs.
The Irish-born British artist Francis Bacon (1909–1992) painted 28 known large triptychs between 1944 and 1985–86.[1] He began working in the format in the mid-1940s with a number of smaller scale works before graduating to large examples in 1962. He followed the larger style for 30 years, although he painted a number of smaller scale triptychs of friend's heads, and after the death of his former lover George Dyer in 1971, the three acclaimed "Black triptychs".
Bacon was a highly mannered artist and often became preoccupied with forms, themes, images and modes of expression that he would rework for sustained periods, often for six or seven-year periods. When asked about his tendency for sequential or repetitive paintings, he explained how, in his mind, images revealed themselves "in series. And I suppose I could go long beyond the triptych and do five or six together, but I find the triptych is a more balanced unit."[2]
He told critics that his usual practice with triptychs was to begin with the left panel and work across. Typically he completed each frame before beginning the next. As the work as a whole progressed, he would sometimes return to an earlier panel to make revisions, though this practice was generally carried out late in the overall work's completion.
As of 2015, half of the triptychs are in public collections.
List of large triptychs
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See also
- Triptychs of Francis Bacon
References
- ↑ Sylvester, 107
- ↑ Sylvester, 100
- ↑ Brown, Mark. "Bacon triptych emerges from Tehran storeroom". The Guardian, 18 June 2004. Retrieved on 20 June 2010.
- ↑ "Bacon painting fetches record price". BBC News. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- ↑ Brown, Mark. "Bacon, Francis Triptych 1970". National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved on 20 June 2010.
- ↑ Tóibín, Colm. "Such a Grip and Twist". The Dublin Review, 2000.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Thornton, Sarah. "Francis Bacon claims his place at the top of the market". The Art Newspaper, 29 August 2008. Retrieved on 10 June 2010.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2014), "What Were the British Earnings and Prices Then? (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
- ↑ "Post-War Works Shine at Christie's" Artnet News, 16 November 2000. Retrieved on 7 May 2007.
- ↑ Brown, Mark. "What recession? Bacon sells for £26.3m". The Guardian, 8 February 2008. Retrieved on 20 June 2010.
- ↑ "The collections of Stanley J Seeger". The Financial Times. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
Bibliography
- Baldassari, Anne. Bacon and Picasso. Flammarion, 2005. ISBN 978-2-08-030486-5
- Davies, Hugh; Yard, Sally. Francis Bacon. New York: Cross River Press, 1986. ISBN 978-0-89659-447-0
- Dawson, Barbara; Sylvester, David. Francis Bacon in Dublin. London: Thames & Hundson, 2002. ISBN 978-0-500-28254-0
- Farr, Dennis; Peppiatt, Michael; Yard, Sally. Francis Bacon: A Retrospective. Harry N Abrams, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8109-2925-8
- Russell, John. Francis Bacon (World of Art). Norton, 1971. ISBN 978-0-500-20169-5
- Sylvester, David. Looking back at Francis Bacon. London: Thames and Hudson, 2000. ISBN 978-0-500-01994-8
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