By Tequila Mockingbird
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 12/28/24 – It was a drizzly, grey London day when we set off for the National Portrait Gallery to see the highly anticipated Francis Bacon: Human Presence exhibition. The gallery was also hosting the Van Gogh immersive experience, so we had a tough choice to make. But, with Van Gogh’s work on display in Amsterdam, I felt drawn to explore the British master, Francis Bacon—odd, unsettling, and undeniably intriguing.
Bacon’s paintings are haunting; they transform his subjects into monstrous, often tortured figures. His raw and unsettling portrayal of the human form, with its visceral distortions, forces you to confront the question: Is he exposing the monster within, or is it the artist himself who is the monster? You’d have to be a close friend—or perhaps even a lover—of Bacon to allow him to capture you on canvas. His subjects often seem trapped in his emotional turmoil, immortalized in forms that are both grotesque and strangely compelling.
The exhibition, which runs until January 19, 2025, is a major retrospective of Bacon’s complex relationship with portraiture, offering a deep dive into his personal and artistic world.
Key Highlights of Francis Bacon: Human Presence:
- A Focus on Portraiture: This is the first major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery dedicated to Bacon, exploring how he approached portraiture in his distinctive style. Bacon’s portraits are far from traditional, pushing the boundaries of what a portrait can convey about the subject and the artist.
- Challenging Tradition: Bacon rarely painted from life, preferring to work from photographs, memory, and his own emotional responses. His unconventional methods provide a glimpse into the psychological landscape behind his work, where the distortion of his subjects serves as a kind of visual language.
- Personal Themes: The exhibition delves into Bacon’s relationships with his lovers, such as Peter Lacy and George Dyer, as well as his friendships with fellow artists like Lucian Freud and Isabel Rawsthorne. These intimate connections, often fraught with tension and desire, are reflected in the rawness and intensity of his portraits.
- Beyond Paintings: In addition to Bacon’s powerful canvases, the exhibition also includes rarely seen photographs and film footage of the artist, providing an added layer of insight into his life and work.
Exhibition Dates:
- Opens: October 10, 2024
- Closes: January 19, 2025
(Image credit: Both © of The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd. Private collection)
Francis Bacon: Human Presence is an intense, thought-provoking experience that offers an unflinching look at one of the 20th century’s most daring and provocative artists. If you’re in London, it’s an unmissable opportunity to witness Bacon’s genius up close. And, despite the gloom of the weather outside, the power of his work is enough to leave you shaken—and strangely captivated.
