Francis Bacon - The Leader

Defined as one of the most important painters of the 20th-century, many considered Francis Bacon as the leader of the School of London group. Influenced by Surrealism, film, photography, and the Old Master, Bacon created his own distinctive style which placed it right at the center of the figurative art in the 1940’s and 50’s. Focused on exposing the wounded and the traumatized humanity in post-war art, his subjects were always portrayed as violently distorted, isolated souls imprisoned and tormented by existential dilemmas. As much as he was the author of one of the most striking approaches to figuration, Bacon’s attitude to painting was much more traditional and linked to the Old Masters, particularly Diego Velazquez.

Featured image: Francis Bacon - Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer (On Light Ground), 1964 (courtesy of artmarketmonitor.com)