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Francis Bacon
Figure Study I
1945Despite the bright background colour and presence of flowers, this painting has ominous undertones. The perspective is confusing and the heavy overcoat is draped over a large, unidentified object, creating an area of darkness at the centre of the painting. Personal torment and angst are recurring themes in Bacon’s work, and this painting reflects a general concern about the role of the individual in society, painted in the year the War ended in Europe and Japan. As society strived to adjust and rebuild itself, a sense of horror remained at events which occurred during the lengthy conflict. Bacon leaves many questions unanswered in this unusual ‘figure study,’ which contains only the suggestion of human presence.
This is an important early painting by Bacon, as he destroyed much of his work from the period of 1935 to 1944. Despite the title, it is a figure study only by implication. It is one of the few works in Bacon's oeuvre that does not feature a figure, though the trilby hat and tweed overcoat suggest a human presence. The painting was followed by a similar work, 'Figure Study II' (Huddersfield Art Gallery), which shows the same coat motif, from which a deformed, screaming figure - perhaps lurking under the coat in this painting - emerges.
- Glossary (2 terms)
- Open
Motif, Oeuvre
Motif
A distinctive element in a work of art or design.
Oeuvre
French term which is used to refer to an artist's total body of work.
Bacon was born in Dublin to English parents and in the late 1920s spent time in Berlin and Paris before settling in London. It was only after seeing an exhibition of Picasso's work in Paris that he decided to become a painter. Self-taught, he gained some success as a designer of furniture and rugs, but painted comparatively little in the 1930s. Bacon said that painting only became really important to him in about 1945, the date that his triptych of the previous year, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (Tate Gallery, London) was exhibited in London. This controversial work served to launch the artist's career.
- Glossary (1 term)
- Open
Triptych
Triptych
An artwork consisting of three components. It may refer specifically to a work with wings that fold over the central image; this is a common form for altarpieces.
- Credits Accepted by H.M. Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art 1998
- Medium Oil on canvas
- Size 123.00 x 105.50 cm (framed: 134.40 x 116.30 x 4.00 cm)
- Enlarge
- ? Estate of Francis Bacon 2004. All Rights Reserved, DACS.
Individual v Society
George Orwell’s book ‘1984’ was published in 1948. Orwell warned of the dangers of a 'Big Brother' society in which the individual had no freedom and their every move was surveyed and controlled.
