"Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective" Exhibition
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
in the Upper East Side area
This event has ended - (2009-05-20 - 2009-08-16)
“Francis Bacon,” published by Skira Rizzoli and edited by Tate curators Matthew Gale and Chris Stephens, provides a thorough look back on the artist’s life, work, and influence. Written and released as complimentary material to “Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective” at Tate Britain, and currently on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the book is a great resource for viewers either new to Bacon’s work or already familiar with the artist.
In addition to an introductory essay by the curators focusing on the artist’s personal relationships and influences, essays by international art experts (including Dr. Simon Ofield, Dean of Art, Design, and Architecture at Kingston University and David Alan Mellor, Professor of History of Art at University of Sussex, among others) cover: the varied response from critics, the influence of film and cinema in his work, and the male form as muse. The range of topics gives the reader a sense of being enrolled in the equivalent of a Bacon Art History course.
Over 200 paintings, photographs, and illustrations serve as a beautiful, sleek compliment to the essays. The juxtaposition of Eadweard Muybridge’s freeze-frame photographic series and Bacon’s painting Paralytic Child Walking on All Fours (from Muybridge) is a personal favorite and provides a truly fascinating look at what inspired the artist and his interpretive process. Items ranging from Bacon’s personal notes and snapshots, other artists’ work he used as studies for paintings, and full-page color triptychs provide a well-documented look at this prolific artist.
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