"Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion" by Francis Bakon (triptych, middle)
Tate Britain Gallery.
These 3 paintings were part of a larger group, made during the Second World war, based on photographs of Nazis. Bacon sought to destroy most of the others, in which the specific source was more evident. When this triptych was first exhibited at the end of the war in 1945, it secured Bacon’s reputation. The title relates these horrific beasts to the saints traditionally portrayed at the foot of the cross in religious painting. Bacon even suggested he had intended to paint a larger crucifixion beneath which these would appear. He later related these figures to the Eumenides – the vengeful furies of Greek myth, associating them within a broader mythological tradition. Typically, Bacon drew on a range of sources for these figures, including a photograph purporting to show the materialization of ectoplasm and the work of Pablo Picasso.
The "Three Studies" were exhibited just as the Nazi concentration camps were revealed to the world, and came to be seen as expression of cruelty and despair. Their display marked the return of an artist who had nor exhibited for eight years. More importantly, it marked a huge departure in his art and the history of art in general.
"Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion" by Francis Bakon (triptych, middle)
Tate Britain Gallery.
These 3 paintings were part of a larger group, made during the Second World war, based on photographs of Nazis. Bacon sought to destroy most of the others, in which the specific source was more evident. When this triptych was first exhibited at the end of the war in 1945, it secured Bacon’s reputation. The title relates these horrific beasts to the saints traditionally portrayed at the foot of the cross in religious painting. Bacon even suggested he had intended to paint a larger crucifixion beneath which these would appear. He later related these figures to the Eumenides – the vengeful furies of Greek myth, associating them within a broader mythological tradition. Typically, Bacon drew on a range of sources for these figures, including a photograph purporting to show the materialization of ectoplasm and the work of Pablo Picasso.
The "Three Studies" were exhibited just as the Nazi concentration camps were revealed to the world, and came to be seen as expression of cruelty and despair. Their display marked the return of an artist who had nor exhibited for eight years. More importantly, it marked a huge departure in his art and the history of art in general.