January 2010
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Exhibition
Press release
January 2010
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For all Francis Bacons brilliant legacy of portraits, he only ever painted four sitters from life and the experience of those sitters reinforces the hidden side of the artists approach. When Lucian Freud arrived at Bacons studio to sit for a portrait he was surprised to discover the painting virtually finished (and based on a photograph of Franz Kafka). David Sylvester found his likeness to have been assimilated from a photograph of a rhinoceros, while the portraits of Lady Sainsbury were inspired by photographs of Egyptian art. The fourth sitter was Cecil Beaton, who hated his portrait so much that Bacon destroyed it. Interestingly, Bacons use and commissioning of photography went against Britains then somewhat grudging and delayed acceptance of photography as an art form in its own right. Bacon would also draw upon ideas and images from artists he revered from the past, including Michelangelo, Velzquez and, perhaps most significantly for him, Picasso. In 1949, Bacons fusion of a Velzquez portrait with stills from the Odessa Steps sequence in Eisensteins iconic film Battleship Potemkin was crucial to his developing agenda to make figurative art modern. The exhibition will also explore the influence of films by directors such as Buuel and Resnais, together with photographs by Muybridge and John Deakin, which informed Bacons reconfigurations of the human body. For the very first time, items from the vast array of images that Bacon absorbed will be shown in close proximity to the paintings they inspired. Theres a real risk that the myth of Bacon albeit one in which the artist colluded is all we will hand on to future generations. Yet the paintings are still by far the most important thing it is only by reaching into those that we will ask the right questions and do justice to Bacons real genius. (Martin Harrison)
Notes to editors:
Opening times and prices Compton Verney is open from 27 March 2010 until 12 December 2010. Tuesday Sunday and Bank Holiday Mondays 11am 5pm. Admission to Compton Verney is 8 Adults, 6 Concessions, 2 Children, 18 Family. Under 5s are free. Admission includes entry to the gallery and grounds. The gallery is home to six permanent collections and a changing exhibition programme. Membership Membership to Compton Verney allows unlimited admission for 12 months and costs 24 for individuals, 44 joint and 50 for family membership (two adults and up to four children).
For press information contact Amanda Randle Compton Verney T: 01789 490 552 E: amanda.randle@comptonverney.org.uk
Image information
Exhibition
Compton Verney Warwickshire CV35 9HZ E amanda.randle@comptonverney.org.uk T 01789 490 552 www.comptonverney.org.uk
Registered Charity No 1032478
Francis Bacon Study for a Portrait of John Edwards 1989 Oil on canvas, 216 x 167cm Private Collection 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved / DACS, London.
Francis Bacon Untitled (figure with raised arm) 1949 Collection: Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved / DACS, London.
Francis Bacon Untitled (sea) 1954 Oil on Canvas 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon, courtesy of Faggionato Fine Arts, London and Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York
John Deakin Black & white photograph of Francis Bacon c.1967 Collection: Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved / DACS, London
Studio Item The Human Figure in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge Collection: Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved/DACS, London
Francis Bacon's studio at 7 Reece Mews, London Photograph by Perry Ogden Collection: Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane. 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved / DACS, London.
John Deakin Photograph of George Dyer Collection: Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane. 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved / DACS, London
Francis Bacon Portrait of John Edwards 1988 Oil on canvas 2010 The Estate of Francis Bacon, courtesy of Faggionato Fine Arts, London and Tony Shafrazi Gallery, New York