What makes great art? For me what makes great art is when the artist visually articulates a new visual language that not only defines and relates to the current times but captures the concept of what can’t necessarily be seen, that’s difficult to articulate, but not impossible to understand it exists. In context to this exhibition and Francis Bacon; Francis Bacon visually articulates anxiety in the animal and human spirit and gives it a form that is unquietly original and disturbs the comforting unknowns.

Ever since I was a kid and first saw ‘the three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion’ at Tate Britain I was both shocked and intrigued by this unknown creature. Since then, I have seen quite a few of Francis Bacon’s paintings, but didn’t really know why I liked them.  There was something grotesquely fascinating about the work, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

This exhibition, ‘Man and beast’ focuses on ‘where the line between human and animal is constantly blurred, reminding us that our primal instincts lie just below the surface’. Francis Bacon intrigued by the beast in living creatures, was obsessed with the human figure and animals in motion. His biggest inspiration came from the 19th, century French photography, Eadweard Muybridge.

Looking at this work now felt timeless and relevant to what has happened recently around the world in relation to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The common motif in his work is that the figures seem isolated which resonated with me a lot in relation to Covid with governmental lock downs, unable to visit family and friends. There’s this creeping sense of anxiety, alienation and despair that are locked in his compositions.

With everyday war-torn images from the Ukraine war that are bombarding us every day in the media, I couldn’t help but see connections with Bacon’s artwork that he painted after World War 2. It was clear that there was a common motif that conveys humanity in the inhumane form in context to post World War 2 art. Bacon must have seen and experienced the harsh realities of war, but also an overwhelming feeling of fear and anger towards humans causing pain onto others.

When I saw the painting ‘Portrait of Innocent X’ by Velázquez years ago, I was completely blown away by its sheer realistic boldness, and vigour. Innocent X was a pope in Italy in the 1600’s, Velázquez was commissioned to paint him in 1650 that was praised for his honest realism as an intelligent, aging man, dressed in fine garments. Francis Bacon was inspired by Velazquez’s realism but wanted to add something else.When we compare this to the image above, it is very different but holds a new meaning to the idea of realism.

I absolutely loved this exhibition for its boldness and unwillingness to be quiet to something that fascinated him; what lies beneath a human. French philosopher, Gillies Deleuze believed that Bacon’s portraits revealed the figure behind the “mask” more than the face itself. I think there’s a lot of truth to this idea that Deleuze puts across. Bacon once said that; “masterpieces are always modern”. I think Bacon’s work are timeless and will always be modern.

I’d love to hear your opinions about Francis Bacon. Did you see this exhibiton? What did you get from seeing his artwork?