“I want to nail down reality so that it can be returned into the nervous system more violently”. – Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (1907-1992) was a British painter who became well known for his raw, unsettling paintings of the human form. Bacon’s early years were anything but joyful. Growing up in a turbulent family with an abusive father, Bacon suffered tremendously. This suffering was only made worse when Bacon came out as homosexual and when his father caught him trying on his mums clothes and kicked him out of the house. Perhaps being presented with such violent behaviour from an early age is what influenced Bacon’s disturbing images. After being left behind by his family, Bacon moved to London in the late 1920’s were he worked as an interior design and furniture designer.
This exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts focused on Bacon’s interest in animals and the way animals and humans can relate physically. Influenced by his various trips and seeing animals in the wild, Bacon was inspired by wild animals and their movement. Through this Bacon believed he could understand human kind’s nature more truthfully. Moreover his influences also came from photographs. More specifically, he was inspired by the images of Eadweard Muybridge in which he captured movement through a series of photographs.
The main theme in Bacon’s paintings is the human figure morphing with the animal figure in order to show how interchangeable one species becomes with another. This morphing creates grotesquely distorted figures which perhaps reflect the way Bacon saw humanity post World War 2. Furthermore, Bacon also explored the themes of biomorphism, crucifixion and pain. The pain in his paintings is often seen through screaming figures which became one of Bacon’s most well known motifs.
Francis Bacon also used colour in a significant way. The vibrant colours of the backgrounds often conrast with the darker figures making them stand out. Bacon’s large scale paitings inhabit the grand spaces of the Royal Academy. This creates a very powerful dynamic, in which Bacon is celebrated as a sort of Grand Master. The very classical, peaceful feel of the RA also contrasts with the raw paintings of Bacon which allows the art to stand out
Figues in claustrophobic spaces
The exhibition was curated to sucessfully display Bacon’s paitings of humans and animals and the relationship between the two.