Francis Bacon's Turbulent Relationships Shape 'Human Presence'

Francis Bacon’s work doesn’t pull punches. His portraits—distorted, raw and brutally emotional -- are on full display at the National Portrait Gallery’s Francis Bacon: Human Presence. The exhibition spans Bacon’s career, from his early 1940s portraits to his self-portraits and deeply personal works in the 1960s. It’s a study of how Bacon tore apart traditional portraiture, using his personal anguish as fuel.

The influence of his relationships is glaring -- most notably, his long-term partner Peter Lacy, whose vulnerability is captured amidst chaos. Bacon’s use of the triptych format reveals the collapse of their relationship, faces twisting into something monstrous. And when his lover George Dyer died by suicide just before a major show, Bacon’s grief turned inward. A 1973 self-portrait shows him almost lost in that pain, his features barely recognizable.

Francis Bacon: Human Presence is on view at the National Portrait Gallery until January 19, 2025.

National Portrait Gallery
St. Martin's Pl
London WC2H 0HE
United Kingdom

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Francis Bacon's Turbulent Relationships Shape 'Human Presence'

Francis Bacon's Turbulent Relationships Shape 'Human Presence'

Francis Bacon's Turbulent Relationships Shape 'Human Presence'

Francis Bacon's Turbulent Relationships Shape 'Human Presence'

Francis Bacon's Turbulent Relationships Shape 'Human Presence'