The Easel

15th October 2024

Francis Bacon: A Very Human Presence

It has been said that Bacon’s work attracts admiration rather than fondness. That’s understandable given the “painterly violence” of his portraits. One is described as “monstrous … [the subject’s] face a pummelled, minced mask of meat”. Lovers appear in different palettes – “a bruised prism of hues, from rich plums to sickly greens and deep pinks”. Says one smitten critic “Bacon holds his own here with Rembrandt [and] with Velázquez’s flickering fluid brushwork”.