AN ANALYTICAL REVIEW OF THE WORK OF FRANCIS BACON

Francis Bacon is an Irish born, British artist who is renowned for his works on the human form and the portrayal of emotion and feeling through his abstract imagery.

 These images typically revolved around heads or figures in peculiar forms, against non-descript, bland backdrops. This emphasises the forms of the figures Bacon portrays and focuses the viewer on the emotive the character portrays. The themes in Bacon’s earlier work revolved around the idea of crucifixion and religious concepts. It was during this stage that Bacon produced his first major pieces names ‘three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion’.

In these images bacon utilises oil and pastel to create abstract figures that represent forms and figure. He blends the tone on his figures using smooth strokes and bland colours against the vibrant background to enhance the focus on the figures and to create a sense of flow in the form.

The characters depicted in these images are not of a human form but incorporate aspects of them throughout. In the right image there are features of the human facial and torso form incorporated into an unusual isometric figure. The screaming mouth resembles a figure nail at the end of the protruding shape and at the base a rib cage. Bacon utilises these aspects of human figure and changes the placement or setting of the features to create strange and sometimes disturbing imagery.

The left image resembles a human torso and head draped in a cloth or robe, this figure guides the viewer to the central image through the direction of the perspective and the gaze of the figure. This is a common occurrence in Bacons imagery as the perspective lines and geometrical shapes placed in the background are utilised to guide the viewer around the image. This can also be seen in Bacon’s ‘Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X’.

 Bacon’s later works go on to focus on his social circle, later becoming almost obsessed with the concept of death and personal demons after the death of his partner George Dyer.