11 September 2008 - 4 January 2009
Explore the exhibition
Room 10: Late
When Bacon turned seventy in 1979, more than a decade of work lay ahead of him. Neither his legendarily hedonistic lifestyle nor his work pattern seemed to age him, but he was continually facing up to mortality through the deaths of those around him.
This unswerving confrontation, however mitigated by youthful companions such as John Edwards, became the great theme of his late style. Constantly stimulated by new source material – from photographs to poetry – he was able to adapt them to his abiding concerns with the vulnerability of flesh.
Exploring new techniques he also extended his fascination with how appropriate oil paint is for rendering the human body's sensuality and sensitivity. A certain despairing energy may also be felt in the forceful throwing of paint that dominates some of these final works: the controlled chance as a defiant gesture.
Ultimately, and appropriately, Bacon's last Triptych of 1991 returns to the key image of sexual struggle that had frequently recurred in his work. He faced death with a defiant concentration on the exquisiteness of the lived moment.
Other works in this room
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Portrait of John Edwards 1988
Oil on canvas
1980 x 1475 mm each
© The Estate of Francis Bacon/DACS 2008
The Estate of Francis Bacon, courtesy of Faggionato Fine Arts, London & Tony Shafrazi Gallery New York enlarge -
Jet of Water 1988
1980 x 1475 mm
Oil on canvas
© The Estate of Francis Bacon/DACS 2008
Collection of Mr and Mrs J. Tomilson Hill enlarge -
Study from the Human Body 1981
Oil on canvas
1980 x 1475 mm each
© The Estate of Francis Bacon/DACS 2008
Private Collection enlarge -
Triptych 1991
Oil on canvas
1980 x 1475 mm
© The Estate of Francis Bacon/DACS 2008
© 2008. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York / Scala, Florence enlarge -
Three Studies for a Self-Portrait 1979
Oil on canvas
375 x 318 mm
© The Estate of Francis Bacon/DACS 2008
Photograph by Malcolm Varon. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art enlarge
