Experience the masterpieces of Francis Bacon in London for the first time in more than 10 years, including his monumental triptychs, rarely loaned paintings from private collections & his last ever work. Explore Francis Bacons profound and moving paintings, where the line between human & animal is constantly blurred, reminding us that our primal instincts lie just below the surface. Irish-born artist Francis Bacon was the horse-breeders son who became one of the most important painters of the 20th century. An openly gay man at a time when homosexuality was illegal, he was banished from his conservative family home by his father at 16. After that, he drifted through Berlin & Paris before establishing himself in London, with his formative years running parallel with some of the 20th centurys most profoundly disturbing events. This powerful exhibition will focus on Bacons unerring fascination with animals: how it both shaped his approach to the human body & distorted it; how, caught at the most extreme moments of existence, his figures are barely recognisable as either human or beast. It also explores how Bacon was mesmerised by animal movement, observing animals in the wild during trips to South Africa; filling his studio with wildlife books & constantly referring to Eadweard Muybridges 19th-century photographs of humans & 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 behaviour of animals. Spanning Bacons 50-year career, highlights include some of Bacons earliest works & his last-ever painting, alongside a trio of bullfight paintings which will be exhibited together for the first time. Seen together, these raw expressions of anxiety and instinct both animal and human feel poignantly relevant today.

Tickets : £ Various Tickets

Address : Royal Academy - Main Gallery
Burlington House, Piccadilly
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W1J 0BD

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