Figure Study - Study for a Portrait of John Edwards by Francis Bacon, 1909-1992

Francis Bacon, 1909-1992
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Figure Study - Study for a Portrait of John Edwards

Lithograph in colours. 1986. Signed in pencil. Numbered in pencil from the edition of 180 (plus c. 25 proofs). Printed at the studio of Arts Litho, Paris 1986. Issued by Editions
de la Difference, Paris 1986.

Very fine impression with rich strong colours. On pale cream wove Arches-type paper. Excellent fresh unrestored condition. Full margins. Sheet: 37 1/4 x 26 3/4ins. Image:
26 3/4 x 19 7/8ins (680 x 504mm).

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This study of the figure, posed by John Edwards Bacon?s long-time companion and the heir to his estate, and derived from the painting of the same theme, is a very powerful large-scale exploration of the theme of mental and spiritual struggle which is at the core of Bacon?s art.

Francis Bacon was arguably the greatest British painter of the second half of the 20th century. When he began to paint in earnest in the mid 1940?s the theme of his art was pessimism about the role of mankind and about the purpose of life, expressed in a composition of figures at a Crucifixion. That work was an immediate success when seen by the critics, and it set the tone for the rest of his life. His continual focus remained the inner struggle between optimism and pessimism, and the growing belief that despite every mental effort mankind cannot escape from its doom. It is that struggle which is so powerfully and uniquely expressed in the symbol of this Self Portrait.

Bacon only came to making prints late in his life, encouraged by the idea that through prints his ideas could reach a wider public. In the Paris print studios where his prints were made he employed the help of the master printers. Much of his print work was in lithography, and for these prints he frequently worked with the Arts Litho Studio in Paris. He built up a successful relationship with the master-lithographers there over a period of some 15 years, controlling closely the colours and surface effects in the lithographs so that they created the type of visual quality that he wanted. The resultant combinations of flat tones and texture echo very closely the impact of his paintings. This study of John Edwards is one of the most effective of his large scale lithographs.