Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon's work is not easy to categorize. If he cannot quite be called an Expressionist proper, it is because even when he allows his paint to appear loose and spontaneous, there remains a sense of strict control, even precision. His intense background colors also seem to have been applied with pristine detachment, and his writhing figures seem frozen in time. His use of photographs and medical illustrations give a further quasi-documentary atmosphere that is not typically Expressionist. Nevertheless, Bacon is in accord with Expressionism in his painful abrasions and distortions of faces and flesh, evoking an agonized picture of the world in which individuals are isolated and vulnerable.

`Invaluable ... the expertly detailed visual analysis of the imagery leaves the viewer with the uncomfortable but exhilarating sense that Bacon's macabre oeuvre has been left to percolate under one's own skin. The feeling is transcending ... a must-see for serious art students and a compelling experience for the neophyte.' Video Rating Guide for Libraries, USA

For more information see section 21

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