Francis Bacon: Man and Beast

This powerful exhibition will take place from January 29 to April 17, with a focus on Bacon’s unerring fascination with animals: how it both shaped his approach to the human body and distorted it; how, caught at the most extreme moments of existence, his figures are barely recognizable as either human or beast. It also explores how Bacon was mesmerized by animal movement, observing animals in the wild during trips to South Africa, filling his studio with wildlife books, and constantly referring to Eadweard Muybridge’s 19th-century photographs of humans and animals in motion. Whether chimpanzees, bulls, dogs, or birds of prey, Bacon felt he could get closer to understanding the true nature of humankind by watching the uninhibited behavior of animals.
Spanning Bacon’s 50-year career, the exhibition includes 45 paintings, highlights include some of Bacon’s earliest works and his last-ever painting, alongside a trio of bullfight paintings which will be exhibited together for the first time.
Francis Bacon (1909, Ireland-1992, Spain) is one of the important artists of the 20th century, with a heartbreaking and impressive work.
For more information visit: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/francis-bacon