Francis Bacon is one of those artists whose work divides opinion. Self-taught, ambitious, original and curious, he has created images of people which are arresting, memorable and honest. He was not interested in the conventions of likeness – for so long the measuring stick of portraiture – his aim was to capture and convey the ‘essence’ of a person and express their ‘presence’ within the painting rather than features which resembled them.
Having said that, there is a likeness to the subjects he depicts. Clearly, he scrutinised faces carefully. He started his career by painting from life but swiftly moved on to using photographs – taken specially for the work or gathered from magazines and scraps of paper. It’s great to see so many of these ‘scraps’ of images which inspired his work. Often they were scattered about on the floor of his studio, bespattered with paint and generally destroyed. But their very presence within this show only adds to the intensity of the portraits on show.
I enjoyed the triptych studies of head. Above are images of his friends Isabel Rawsthorne and Peter Lacy. Peter Lacy was Bacon’s lover in the early part of his career. There were several important gay relationships in his life but the last was with George Dyer. There is a very moving triptych of the last paintings of George Dyer shortly before he died. (below) The paintings are a tribute to an important man in his life and the atmosphere of depression and sickness which emanates from the canvases is overwhelming.
This impressive exhibition explores the influences and friendships which contributed to the evolution of his distinctive and challenging style. It was a joy to see a small self-portrait by Rembrandt which Bacon especially admired for its darkness and thickly applied paint.
Francis Bacon: Human Presence is on at the National Gallery until 19th January 2025
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