Francis Bacon - In the Mirror of Photography: Collecting, Preparatory Practice and Painting

by Katharina Günther

Overview

The British painter Francis Bacon (1909–1992) is famed for his idiosyncratic mode of depicting the human figure. Thirty years after his death, his working methods remain underexplored. New research on the Francis Bacon Studio Archive at Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, sheds light on the genesis of his works, namely the photographic source material he collected in his studios, on which he consistently based his paintings.

The book brings together the artist’s pictorial springboards for the first time, delineating and interpreting recurring patterns and methods in his preparatory work and adoption of photographic material. In addition, it correctly locates ‘chance’ as a driving force in Bacon’s working method and qualifies the significance of photography for the painter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783110720624
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	06/30/2022
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Katharina Günther, expert on Modern and Contemporary Art and Photography.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction 7

1.1 A Private Passion - Bacon's Attitude towards Photography 16

1.2 State of Research 26

1.3 Luck and Chance - Painting 1946 as a Case Study 32

1.4 The iceberg - Research Material and Definition of 'Photographic Reference' 44

2 The Studio - Analysis of the Working Environment 48

2.1 'A Little Corner of South Kensington' 48

2.2 'Cat in a Cage' - Francis Bacon in Reece Mews 68

2.3 'A Heap of Broken Images' - Preparatory Processes 85

2.4 Drawing a Line - Drawings versus Photographs 127

3 Comparative Analyses - Bacon's Paintings and their Photographic References 139

3.1 Spatial Setting and Photography 139

3.1.1 Spatial Settings-Abstract, Elusive, Unreliable 140

3.1.2 The Stage Set - Figure and Ground 157

3.2 Figure and Photography 172

3.2.1 'Collage is not my medium' - The Construction of the Figure 172

3.2.2 Figure, Outline, Materiality - Closest to and Furthest Away from the Photograph 194

3.3 Narrative, Identity and the Use of Photographs 211

3.3.1 'I don't want to tell a story, I have no story to tell' 213

3.3.2 Portrait and Identity - No Less than Life Itself 232

3.4 Colour and Photography - 'Colour is a most mysterious thing' 254

4 Conclusion - 'A Sponge that Absorbs Everything' 270

5 Appendix 283

Bibliography 285

List of Pictorial References to Francis Bacon's Paintings 308

Acknowledgements 411

Picture Credits 412

Colour Plates 414

Triptychs 444

Editorial Reviews

„Katharina Günthers ‚Francis Bacon: In the Mirror of Photography‘ ist ein Dokument bedingungsloser wissenschaftlicher Akribie und Hingabe, das zu Recht mit dem Deutschen Fotobuchpreis in Gold ausgezeichnet wird.“ (Peter Truschner in: Laudation, Deutscher Fotobuchpreis, 2023/2024, https://deutscherfotobuchpreis.de/portfolio/francis-bacon-in-the-mirror-of-photography/ (09.01.2024)

***

„Das hier behandelte Verhältnis von Malerei und Fotografie, die Debatte um den möglichen künstlerischen Charakter von Fotografie sowie die akribische Rekonstruktion des künstlerischen Prozesses bei Francis Bacon sind auch für ein breiteres Publikum interessant und werden in diesem Sinne auch stilistisch elegant und gut nachvollziehbar präsentiert.“ (Laudation, Offermann-Hergarten-Preis, Universität Köln, 2023, https://phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/forschung/auszeichnungen-und-preise/offermann-hergarten-preis (16.01.2024))

From the Publisher