Francis Bacon: Human Presence is a highly considerate book that explores the artist’s many-sided relationships with portraiture from the 1950s onwards. It shows how he continued to redefine this discipline taking it beyond its capacity into a highly original, personal, and provoking mode.
The book delves into Bacon’s responses to the great portrait artists before him and provides an insight into his emotional world. His large-scale works, which serve as memorials to lost friends and lovers, reveal a depth of mood that resonates with the viewer. Bacon’s portraits of peers such as Lucian Freud, Isabel Rawsthorne, Peter Lacy, and George Dyer provide glimpses into the artist’s life, each piece a visual tale of intimacy, loss, and human fragility.
It is the first publication dedicated to Bacon’s portraits in over twenty years. The book coincides with an exhibition of the same name at London’s National Portrait Gallery, set to open on 10 October 2024. It charts the trajectory of Bacon’s career through his figurative works, the iconic triptychs of ghostly, disembodied figures informed by the human condition.
This publication, by Rosie Broadley (Editor), Richard Calvocoressi (Contributor), James Hall (Contributor), Martin Harrison (Contributor), Carol Jacobi (Contributor), John Maybury (Contributor), Sophie Pretorius (Contributor), Gregory Salter (Contributor), Gerogia Atienza (Contributor), Tanya Bentkey (Contributor) provides a narrative of how turmoil and relationships shaped his art: a visual and emotional journey into the mind of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
It is an unexpected treat for fans of Bacon and those who appreciate all forms of portraiture. The book provides an essential and comprehensive look at the artist’s work. ****