Contents
Francis Bacon (artist)
Painting distorted human figures that became some of modern art’s most unsettling images.
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion · Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X
- Born
- 28 October 1909
- Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
- Died
- 28 April 1992
More people
Francis Bacon (artist)
Irish-born British painter whose portraits and triptychs transform the body into a vehicle for psychological intensity.
Early life
Childhood asthma
Ill health interrupted his schooling and shaped an unsettled childhood.
Self-taught artist
Lived in Berlin and Paris before working in London as a designer and painter.
Career
- 1920s–1930s
Design and early painting
Worked on interiors while developing his art without formal training.
- 1940s–1960s
Breakthrough
Established a distinctive figurative style and gained international recognition.
- 1970s–1992
Portraits and triptychs
Continued exploring familiar sitters, grief and the human body.
Selected work
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion
A triptych of disturbing, barely human figures.
Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X
Transforms a papal portrait into a trapped, screaming presence.
Triptych May–June 1973
A work associated with the death of his partner George Dyer.
Behind the paintings
Visual sources
Worked from photographs, medical imagery and reproductions of earlier art.
Studio archive
His London studio was reconstructed at Dublin’s Hugh Lane Gallery.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and references ↗Biography and contributions ↗Photo: Reginald gray. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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