Born in Dublin to English parents, Francis Bacon’s childhood was a succession of moves between Ireland, London, Berlin and Paris, where he settled in the spring of 1927. It was in Paris that he experienced a profound moment of inspiration, when he encountered a Picasso exhibition at the Paul Rosenberg Gallery leaving an indelible impact on him. Upon returning to London, young Bacon decided to move to South Kensington with his old nursemaid, Jessie Lightfoot, and Eric Allden, his partner and his first patron. His beloved Soho neighborhood, however, was the real inspiration for Bacon’s works: from Wheeler’s, the seafood restaurant on Old Compton Street where he was a regular, to the Colony Room on Dean Street, the Gargoyle Club, the French House or Charlie Chester’s Casino. Before fully dedicating himself to painting around 1933, Bacon’s early creative explorations found expression in the realm of interior design, partly inspired by Eileen Gray, Charlotte Perriand, and Le Corbusier. These influences would later resurface in his paintings, notably evidenced by Bacon’s affinity with mirrors, tubular steel furniture, curtains, and tassels.
In 1930, following this trajectory, Bacon inaugurated his first exhibition, showcasing furniture, rugs, and paintings at 17 Queensberry Mews West, London. Two years later, in 1932, he crossed paths with Eric Hall, who would become his partner and patron until the late 1940s. In 1933, Bacon painted his first Crucifixion, entitled Crucifixion: drawing significant influence from Picasso’s crucifixion group at Boisgeloup. This artwork was featured in Herbert Read’s publication, “Art Now,” in the same year. Crucifixion was subsequently sold by Douglas Cooper, via the Mayor Gallery, to the renowned collector Michael Sadler. Ironically, this transaction heightened expectations for the young painter’s future work, despite a low production between 1936 and 1944. It wasn’t until 1944 that Bacon returned to painting, unveiling Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, a triptych that caused a sensation in the London art scene when exhibited the following year at the Lefevre Gallery.
In 1946, after selling Painting 1946 to Erica Brausen for £200, Bacon decided to use the proceeds to settle in Munich. In 1948, Brausen became his art dealer and decided to help him achieve an important milestone in his career by securing the purchase of the work from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, through Alfred Barr.
In the same years, in Munich, Bacon began pictorial experiments with papal figures, all suggested by the Portrait of Innocent X, painted by Diego Velázquez and today part of Doria-Pamphilj collection in Rome. In 1949, Erica Brausen organized an exhibition for Bacon at the Hanover Gallery, and the same year the artist finished Head VI.
More generally, from the late 1940s, Bacon tackled some of his major themes: he painted the series on the Popes, on the Men in Blue and on the Primates, but also portraits inspired by William Blake’s Funeral Mask, landscapes reminiscent of the French Riviera, and early self-portraits. Thanks to the Hanover Gallery, Bacon’s work was exhibited in France, Italy and the United States. In 1955, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London mounted the first exhibition dedicated to him. In March 1957, Bacon exhibited his series Van Gogh at the Hanover Gallery in London. These paintings, inspired by The Painter on the Road to Tarascon (1888), are characterized by a more vibrant palette and bolder brushstrokes compared to Bacon’s rather somber previous production.
In October 1958, Bacon made a sudden departure from the Hanover Gallery and opted to join Marlborough Fine Art. Founded by Frank Lloyd and Harry Fischer, later joined by David Somerset in 1947, Marlborough Fine Art pledged to launch the artist’s international reputation. True to their word, the gallery’s efforts paid off, culminating in the organization of Bacon’s first major exhibition at the Tate Gallery in May 1962. During this period, Marlborough Fine Art represented artists including Henry Moore, Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud, and Graham Sutherland. The exhibition at the Tate Gallery showcased ninety-two paintings, including some created specifically for the occasion, such as the new series of Three Studies for a Crucifixion (1962). In October 1971, a new exhibition debuted at the Grand Palais in Paris. Just as had occurred a decade earlier when Peter Lacy, Bacon’s then lover, passed away shortly before the opening, history repeated itself with the loss of his new companion, George Dyer. Devastated by this loss, Bacon created, between 1971 and 1973, Black Triptychs.
In 1974, Bacon moved again, this time to Paris. He settled in a studio apartment at 14 rue de Birague in the historic Marais district. The following year he met art historian Eddy Batache and art consultant Reinhard Hassert, who would become two of his closest friends and confidants until the end of his life. Bacon’s first exhibition in Paris was in 1977 at Galerie Claude Bernard. This now-legendary spectacle was so successful that the police were forced to cordon off rue des Beaux-Arts to channel the crowds heading for the gallery. Subsequent exhibitions at Galerie Maeght-Lelong in 1984 and Galerie Lelong in 1987 further solidified the status of living legend that Bacon had earned in the French capital. Bacon’s work also fascinated intellectuals, writers and philosophers such as Gilles Deleuze, Michel Leiris, Gilbert Lascault and Jean Clair. Bacon remained in the Paris studio until 1987, when he began spending much more time in Madrid, following his friend José Capelo. Meanwhile, in 1985 a second exhibition had opened at the Tate Gallery.
During his final year, Bacon witnessed a decline in his health, exacerbated by asthma and the effects of kidney cancer surgery he had undergone in 1989. In April 1992, he traveled to Madrid once again to visit Jose Capelo. However, shortly after his arrival, he fell seriously ill and was admitted to Clínica Ruber with pneumonia aggravated by asthma. It was there, on April 28, at the age of 82, that he succumbed to a heart attack. Meanwhile, in London, his last major canvas remained unfinished: a self-portrait. In a tribute to the artist, Sir Nicholas Serota, then director of the Tate Gallery, proclaimed, “Francis Bacon was not only the greatest British painter of his generation, but he was also internationally recognized as one of the leading artists of the postwar period.”