“Francis Bacon (1909 – 1992), the Irish-born British figurative artist, is considered a major figure of 20th-century art. Many of his iconic works feature an architectural, ghost-like framing device around his subjects. Francis Bacon: Invisible Rooms will feature approximately 30 paintings alongside a group of rarely seen drawings and documents including some of Bacon’s most powerful works, surveying the variety of Bacon’s compositions united by this common motif.
An element introduced by the artist in the 1930s, Bacon used a barely visible cubic or elliptic cage around the figures depicted to create his dramatic compositions. It is these imaginary chambers that emphasise the isolation of the represented figures and bring attention to their psychological condition; the act of placing the sitters in ‘invisible rooms’ guides the focus of attention towards the complex human emotions that are felt but can’t be seen.” — Tate Liverpool
Portrait of Francis Bacon by John Deakin, c. 1962. Gelatin silver print, 640 x 515 mm © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2016. Photo: John Deakin.
Francis Bacon, Crucifixion, 1933 © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2016. Image courtesy Murderme Collection. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd.
Francis Bacon, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, c. 1944. Oil paint on 3 boards, Each: 940 x 737 mm © Tate
Francis Bacon, Study for a Portrait, 1952. Oil paint and sand on canvas, 661 x 561 x 18 mm © Estate of Francis Bacon. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2016.
Francis Bacon, Study for the Nurse from the Battleship Potemkin, 1957. Oil paint on canvas, 1980 x 1420 mm © Estate of Francis Bacon. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2016. © Städel Museum – U. Edelmann – ARTOTHEK.
Francis Bacon, Seated Figure, 1961. Oil paint on canvas, 1651 x 1422 mm © Estate of Francis Bacon.
Francis Bacon, Study for Portrait on Folding Bed, 1963. Oil paint on canvas, 1981 x 1473 mm © Estate of Francis Bacon.
Francis Bacon, From Muybridge ‘The human Figure in Motion: Woman Emptying a Bowl of Water/Paralytic Child Walking on All Fours’, 1965. Collection Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2016.
Francis Bacon, Three Figures and Portrait, 1975. Oil paint and pastel on canvas, 1981 x 1473 mm © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2016. Image courtesy Tate.
Images courtesy Tate Liverpool